


Bonded by Pain

by Heartlove689



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drama, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Non-Graphic Violence, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Sexual Violence, Sick Character, Smut, Swearing, Teen Romance, Tragedy, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:44:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4136193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartlove689/pseuds/Heartlove689
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The love story behind Daryl and McKayla. <br/>If you haven't begun reading Finding Each Other, that's perfectly fine. If you have and you want to know how Daryl and McKayla started and the obstacles they've faced in the process, then read on.<br/>I hope you enjoy the story behind these two.<br/>I'll be posting the first set up chapters up to what I've posted on the other site I use. After that, I'll be posting a new chapter every Tuesday...hopefully.</p><p>WARNING: There will be a few chapters that will get dark. There will also be a few chapters that will be sexual and not in a good way. I'll give a warning at the beginning of the chapter to indicate it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Site (June 93')

**Author's Note:**

> For Reference Use Only:  
> Characters
> 
> McKayla Forbes- Julianne Hough  
> Aaron Forbes- Michael Fassbender  
> Pamela "Mama" Forbes- Ashley Judd  
> Dr. Marcus Forbes- Julian McMahon
> 
> Merle Dixon- Michael Rooker  
> Daryl Dixon- Norman Reedus  
> Will Dixon- Robert Duvall
> 
> Kimmy Carlisle- Kat Graham  
> Tanya- Willa Holland  
> Anthony Brewer- Liam Nesson
> 
> Zackery Hennessey- Sebastian Stan  
> Brittany Slater- Kim Allen  
> Mark Hennessey- Oliver Martinez  
> Olivia Hennessey- Catherine Zeta Jones

McKayla’s POV  
The summer of my junior year was supposed to be filled with adventure. Instead, I’m stuck in a car with my older brother Aaron. We’re driving six hours to Northern Georgia to our original hometown. I don’t remember living here at all, but that’s because mama and I moved when I was five. We moved because my dad died late one night on his way home. All because he decided to do a good dead and stop to help someone that was having car troubles. They returned his gratitude by shooting him point blank right between the eyes.  
We don’t talk about my dad. It’s like opening Pandora’s Box and all hell usually breaks loose within a matter of seconds. Mama gets depressed, which leads to her drinking and passing out somewhere for days. She’s not what we call an alcoholic exactly. It’s just when she gets extremely depressed, drinking solves something for her. At least I think it does.  
Once she gets done with her drinking binge, everything is usually back to normal. Well, our normal at least. Aaron rarely gets to see our mama’s drunk binges since he’s off fighting for our country. Mama is so proud of him for doing this. I know my dad was too, that’s what mama always told him.  
Aaron and I are half siblings, most of the time it’s hard to tell, but it’s true. Our mama got pregnant in high school and his dad took off. When Aaron was eight, our mama met my dad which soon became his dad. He even took his last name which made him happy.  
“McKayla!”  
“What?” I say.  
“Have you been payin’ attention to anything I’ve been sayin’?”  
“No, Aaron I haven’t. Sorry.”  
“Pay attention will ya. I was tellin’ you that when we get to Merle’s you need to keep your attitude on the down low. Merle is a hard ass and I highly doubt you want to deal with it.”  
“I’m perfectly fine with keeping my attitude at bay Aaron. You don’t have to keep reminding me.” I say and he slams on his breaks which sends me flying forward. Luckily I was wearing my seat belt.  
“What the hell Aaron! Are you trying to kill me?”  
“Listen McKayla, your attitude ain’t just verbal it’s how you present yourself as well. Your gestures gives off enough attitude to drive anyone insane.”  
“Okay Aaron. I understand. Can we just get there already? I really need to go to the bathroom.” He huffs and drives off fast, making the rocks under his tires fly into the air. We sat there in silence has he continues to drive. Eventually, we pull up in front of a rundown looking home and he parks in front of it. There’s a rusted up truck in the driveway and a tarp that’s covering a bike in front of it. Aaron gets out and I sit there for a minute before getting out myself. I stretch my arms above my head and when I look at Aaron, he’s shaking his head.  
“What?”  
“Does mom know you got that done?” I automatically know exactly what he’s talking about.  
“Don’t worry about it Aaron.” Once again he shakes his head and turns around to knock on the door. A minute later, a man around Aaron’s age answers the door.  
“Son of a bitch. Forbes is that you brother?”  
“Ya Merle it is.” I watch him grab his hand and they hug quickly.  
“Who’s this pretty thing?” He asked Aaron. I wanted to answer, but Aaron answered for me.  
“Merle, you remember my sister McKayla.”  
“Damn. I guess she’s old enough to look like that.” What the hell, is the only thing I thought? Aaron’s stance changed and so did Merle’s. They were at a stand-off.  
“Don’t get like that with me Forbes. Get your asses in her already.” He says and we walk in after him. I could feel his eyes staring at me and it made feel weird.  
The house smells like grease, dust, and smoke. It nearly made me cough for a minute, but that feeling passed. There’s a couch and a recliner in front of a medium sized TV that has a collection of dust on top of it. Behind the couch is a small fireplace with a rug in front of it. Not something you usually see in a run-down looking house but I pushed that thought out of my head along with a few others.  
There’s a hallway to the left that most likely leads to the bedrooms and bathroom. That’s when I hear the shower going. I guess I won’t be using the bathroom any time soon depending on how long whoever is in there takes. I take a deep breath so I can relax from thinking about the fact that I haven’t used one for six hours.  
“Hey McKayla, Merle and I will be in his room. Um just relax. Daryl should be out of the bathroom soon.” I raised an eyebrow at Aaron. Who the hell is Daryl? Wait, Daryl. I remember him sort of. He was Merle’s little brother and we were practically inseparable when we were younger.  
A few minutes later, I heard the shower shut off as I continued looking around. A few pictures caught my eye, but I realized that they weren’t really anything significant. I turned around because I heard someone open the door to the bathroom. When I turned around, someone, who I assumed was Daryl, was standing in the hallway with a towel wrapped around his waist.  
My heart nearly stopped at that sight. I’ve seen guys shirtless but for some reason this was completely different. He was staring directly at me and then I realized I was staring directly at him as well. Neither of us saying a word to each other. Then he turned around and headed towards his bedroom I assumed.  
I took a deep breath so I could recollect myself. I’m not really sure what that was all about, but it sure was interesting. Daryl and Merle don’t look anything alike at all which I thought was weird. Even Aaron and I have similarities in our looks and we’re half siblings. Daryl definitely got the good genes then.  
Daryl’s POV  
This has been the longest week ever, but today has been absolute hell. One of the lifts decided to take a shit and we all got bitched at by the boss. I don’t blame him for bitchin’ at us, we all had it comin’ but I knew it was pointed more towards me. I’m the youngest one in the shop so usually when somethin’ goes wrong, I get blamed for it. Just like I’m used to.  
When I was growin’ up, my Dad beat the shit out of me so many times with his belt that it scarred me physically and mentally. The amount of scars on my back will even make the toughest man cringe at the slightest look at it. I rarely take my shirt of cause I don’t want anyone to see them. I don’t even like looking at them. It only reminds me of my shitty childhood with the piece of shit father of mine.  
I pull into the driveway in front of my brother’s motorcycle. At least the dumbass remembered to put the cover over it this time. Getting out of the truck, I see Merle sitting on the front stop with a beer in hand. Then I see there’s another one sitting next to him.  
“That mine?” I ask and he just nods. I take a seat next to him and take a long swig from the beer.  
“Not to spoil your mood but Aaron is comin’ over and apparently his bringin’ his sister with him.”  
“Aaron as in Aaron Forbes?” I ask him and once again he just nods. I haven’t seen him for a long ass time. Same as his little sister. She used to follow me around like a lost puppy, that was at least until her and her mama moved after her dad died.  
“Well damn, I guess you and Aaron will be goin’ out t’night.”  
“Ya and that means, you have to keep McKayla company. I know it sounds like a shitty job but it’s been a while since Forbes and I have seen each other.”  
“Don’t worry about it. I think I can handle keepin’ an eye on a little girl.”  
“Daryl, I don’t think she’s such a little girl anymore.” He says standing up and heading inside. I finish my beer before heading in as well to take a shower. I know for a fact I’m covered head to toe in grease right now.  
Taking off my boots first before even stepping inside cause I’d rather not track in more gunk than I need. I’m not someone that really cares if something is clean but this house is already a mess. I walk inside after taking them off and head to my room to get my towel without getting it covered in grease in the process. I haven’t even looked in a mirror yet and I’m not sure if I want to.  
Walking into the bathroom, I barely glance in the mirror and I can see that there’s grease all over my face. This is going to take a bit to get all of this off. I turn on the shower so it can heat up while I strip off my clothes. Throwing them in the hamper so at some point I can go wash them.  
The bathroom is already covered in steam from the shower. I pull back the curtain to step in and the hot water hits my back which makes it sting a little bit. The scars on my back have a tendency of being over sensitive to heat at times but I’ve managed and gotten used to it over the years.  
I stand there under the water for a while just feeling the water running over my entire body. That’s when I hear Merle start talking and I have a feeling that they’re here already. This should be interesting especially since I’ll be walking out of here half naked. I hurry up and finish my shoulder, scrubbing all the grime that’s at me. I shut the water off and hop out after wrapping a towel around my waist.  
I open the bathroom door to walk to my room when I see a blonde standing in the living room with her back turned away from me. I’m not usually attracted to someone right away. I’ve been with a few chicks but I’ve usually been drunk and so have they. Just random hook-ups, that’s all they’ve ever been. Then she turns around and it’s like the air from my lungs were sucked straight out of them.  
She was absolutely gorgeous. Even with the dim light in the living room, I could see how blue her eyes were and I felt like I could drown in them. I finally stopped staring and headed directly to my room to control myself. I knew she was staring back at me but I’m not sure in what way. I knew which way I was but I highly doubt it was the same.  
I quickly dried off and got dressed. Jeans and a white t-shirt was one of the few options I had right now. I seriously need to invest in more clothes but there’s other things I have to waste my money on and clothes aren’t typically it. Walking out of my room, Aaron and Merle are standing in the living room. Aaron turns around and starts laughing.  
“Well look who’s all grown up.” Aaron says putting an arm around my neck, tugging me down and giving me a noogy.  
“Damn it Forbes. That might’ve been funny when I was eight but I can kick your ass now.”  
“You can try boy but it ain’t gonna work.” He says with a smile and he pulls me in for a half assed hug. That’s when I see her again and she’s trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible.  
“Daryl, you remember my little sister McKayla right?” Aaron asks me.  
“Ya but she doesn’t look like the same five year old that used to follow me around.” That’s when I see her blush.  
“Ya well you two will be hanging out tonight. Merle and I are gonna go get a few drinks. We won’t be too late.”  
“That’s perfectly fine. I was plannin on stayin’ in t’night anyways.”  
“Alright then. Merle! Hurry your ass up already.” Aaron yells and Merle stumbles out of his bedroom. He’s already drunk and we all know it. They leave and McKayla and I are standing around avoiding eye contact as much as possible which I thought was funny.  
“So what ya wanna do?”  
“What are the choices?” She asks.  
“I could start a fire and we can sit out back if ya want.”  
“Alright. A fire sounds fun.” She says with a smile on her face. I’d do anything to see that smile every single moment of the day. It makes her even more gorgeous than before. I lead her through the kitchen and out the backdoor. Opening it up, she brushes passed me and I could smell her perfume lingering off of her. That made my insides go crazy and I need to control myself right now.


	2. Childhood Attractions (June 93')

McKayla’s POV  
Childhood attractions is something that I never thought was possible. I remember following Daryl around when I was younger but he never told me to leave him alone. Whenever him and Merle would come over, I would be following him around the yard. I loved following him, he was always quiet and sneaky. There were a few times that I would lose track of him and he’d pop up behind me. With me being only five, he usually scared me but I didn’t cry.  
Then my dad died and mama and I moved away. The last time I saw him, I was looking out the backseat window. He was waving goodbye, standing beside his mama and dad. Merle was already enlisted along with my brother Aaron. Part of me wished we didn’t have to move but the other part of me was happy knowing mama and I could start over. Mama would never be the same know matter how hard she tried.  
“McKayla, are ya hungry?” He asks me as we sit by the fire.  
“I could eat.” I said with a faint smile. I’m trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible but it’s starting to get difficult.  
“Well our choices are, we can order pizza or we can go get food.”  
“Pizza sounds good.”  
“Okay, well how about we go out to eat pizza.” I nod and I watch him disappear inside for a minute. He returns wearing a leather jacket and holding another one.  
“Ya gonna get cold.” He said and I looked at him.  
“We’re takin’ the bike. Merle and Aaron took the truck and I ain’t about to deal with Aaron’s piece of shit car.” That made me laugh. Aaron told me on a few occasions that his car had broken down which resulted in Daryl tempting to fix it. I follow him around the side of the house and watch him take the cover off the bike before disappearing again into the garage.  
I never spent much time around motorcycles. Mama never cared for them because of the amount of stories my dad used to tell her from his experience in the emergency room. It started to make me feel a little nervous but then he walked back out of the garage with a faint smile.  
“Have you ever been on one before?” I shake my head no.  
“It’s not difficult. Just when I tell ya to. Swing your leg around and sit behind me.” I watch him push the motorcycle out of its original location so it’s lined up with the driveway. He swings his leg over and starts the bike which made me jump a little bit from the noise. I could see him smile.  
“Come on.” He says with his hand out. I grab it but he puts in on his shoulder and I swing my leg around the back of the bike. Both of my hands are on his shoulders but he grabs them to wrap them around his waist.  
“Don’t let go. Ya hear me?” I told him yes and then he takes off which made me yip a little bit. The jolt made me wrap my arms around his waist tighter. I could hear him chuckle a little bit over the roar of the engine.  
Daryl’s POV  
When I took off, her arms tightened around my waist which made me laugh. I slowed down knowing that she’s not used to being on a motorcycle. She did seem like a natural though. Keeping herself steady as I took a turn, or went over a bump. I took one of my hands off the handlebar and placed it over hers to reassure her that she can loosen up her grip a little bit.  
A few minutes later, we pull up in front of the restaurant and I shut the engine off. I tell her to get off first after I steady the bike. Putting the stand down, I hop off shortly after her and I looked at her. Her hair was wild from the wind but it still looked good. Walking up to her, I moved a few strands of hair to where it should be and she smiled.  
“Thanks.”  
“No problem. Let’s go get some food.” I tell her and she grabs my hand. We walk inside but I let go when I see Aaron and Merle in there. They’re surrounded by their buddies and all of them are being loud. Then Merle looks up at me and my stomach sinks.  
“Hey Aaron. Look who just walked in the door.” Merle practically yelled. I saw McKayla look in that direction by the time Aaron had already gotten up to walk to us.  
“What the hell are you two doin here?” Aaron asked me.  
“We’re getting some food Aaron.” McKayla said and walked towards the counter.  
“How’d ya’ll get here anyway?” I looked at him when he asked me that. His face went sunk when he realized what we took to get here.  
“You better be careful Dixon.” He said before turning around and heading back towards where he was sitting. I turn around as well to walk to McKayla who is standing by the counter looking up at the menu board.  
“What kind of pizza ya like?”  
“Pepperoni mostly.” She said and I smiled. I’m starting to act like an actual teenager, well even more than I already am.  
“Are ya ready to order?” The cashier asked us. I looked down at McKayla and she nodded.  
“Sixteen inch pepperoni pizza and two sodas.” She gives me the price, I hand her the money and we walk to the cooler to grab our drinks. We both slide into a booth to sit and wait for our pizza to come.  
“Do you remember this place at all?” I ask her and she shakes her head no.  
“It was shortly before you and your mama moved. Aaron took us all here to eat. There was a playground around back and you actually got stuck up top.”  
“I don’t remember that.”  
“Ya well you were young.” I looked up at McKayla and she was smiling. Our pizza came to the table and was placed in front of us. We grabbed a piece each and dug in. A while later, the pizza was completely gone. We completely split the pizza in half. Aaron and Mere had already left which was a good thing.  
“Ya ready to go?” I asked her and she nodded. We walked outside and got on the bike.  
When we got back to the house, she hopped off the back of the bike and started walking to the backyard. I put the cover back over the bike before heading out back as well. When I found her, she was working on getting the fire to light up again.  
“I was gonna do that ya know.”  
“I know but I can do it too. Aaron taught me last summer when he was home.” I said okay and took a seat as I watched her get the fire going again. A minute later, the fire was blazing and she was sitting next to me. We sat there in silence for a while before she asked me a question which I barely heard.  
“What?”  
“How’d I get down from the playground?”  
“Oh, um I climbed up and got ya. You were screamin’ and hollerin’ the entire time though.” She started to laugh a little bit.  
“Well thanks for saving me Daryl.”  
“Anytime.” She leans forward holding her hands out to warm them up. That’s when I noticed a ring on her middle finger.  
“What’s that ring?”  
“Oh, it’s Zack’s class ring.”  
“Who’s Zack?”  
“My boyfriend.” She said those words like it didn’t mean anything at all. It seemed like she was annoyed by the fact she had a boyfriend. We sat there in silence for a while before she finally told me that she was getting tired. I stood up and brought her inside after putting out the fire.  
“Um you can take my room if you’d like. I highly doubt ya wanna be out here when our brothers get back.” She laughed. We both walked into my bedroom and it felt weird.   
“Could you possibly stay in here with me? I’m not used to sleeping in places that I don’t know.”  
“Sure but I’m sleepin’ on the floor.” She shook her head and she walked back out of the room. I heard the bathroom door close and a something unzipping. I took that moment to change quickly.  
She returned wearing sweats and the shirt she was wearing earlier. Her hair was pulled up in a high pony tail. She climbed onto my bed and laid down. I never had a sober chick in my bed before which was completely different.  
“Good night Daryl.” She said before closing her eyes.  
“Night.” I had an uneasy feeling sink to the pit of my stomach. I’m laying on the floor while there’s a beautiful girl in my bed but she’s off limits in so many ways. Her hand fell of the side of the bed and I wanted to reach up to touch it but I resisted. My eyes started to feel heavy and I soon found sleep laying on the floor.


	3. See You Soon (June 93')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Physical violence is in this chapter, as well as sexual violence. You've been warned.

Daryl’s POV  
I woke up and looked up at my bed to see that it was empty. She must be an early riser which I usually am but not this morning apparently. I stand up and head out to see McKayla sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal. Leaning up against the frame of the room, I stand there unnoticed for a while. She finally realizes I’m standing there and smiles.  
“Morning.” I say walking over to her and sitting next to her on the couch.  
“Morning.” She says with a mouth full of cereal.  
“Good cereal?”  
“Ya. Merle told me to help myself.” She said but this time without a mouth full.  
“Alright. Enjoy my cereal.” I told her before standing up to go look for Merle and Aaron. Walking outside, I see Aaron passed out in the hammock and Merle passed out in one of the lawn chairs. The classic redneck duo, passed out in random places in the backyard.  
“Son of a…” I hear and watch Aaron fall out of the hammock. Shaking my head, I walk over to him and help him up.  
“No matter how many times I fall asleep in one of those, I still can’t get out of them worth a damn.”  
“I see that.” I tell him and he asks me if McKayla was awake. I told him that she’s sitting inside eating cereal in the living room. He just nods and begins walking towards the backdoor. We both left Merle outside sleeping. We both know better not to wake him up.  
Walking inside, Aaron and I both stopped when we heard McKayla talking to someone. I walked ahead of him and saw Tanya, a chick that I’ve hooked up with a few times standing on the front porch.  
“Will ya jus’ let me in? I’m friends with Daryl.”  
“Tanya, what the hell are ya doin’ here?” I said, brushing up against McKayla.  
“I’ve been tryin’ to get ahold of ya. Where’ve ya been baby?” I look down at McKayla and whispered in her ear to go out back with Aaron. She listened and I watched them walk out the backdoor. McKayla turned around to give me a concerned look.  
“Tanya, I told ya a million times. These damn hookups are done.”  
“Oh come on Daryl, you don’t mean it.” She says moving closer to me.  
“I’m bein’ serious. You want somethin’ I can’t give ya. So jus’ leave already.”  
“Why because ya bangin’ that pretty blonde in there? She could always join us if ya want?” I started seeing red which wasn’t always a good thing.  
“No I ain’t bangin’ her. She’s my brother’s friend’s kid sister. They stayed here last night. So do me a favor and get the fuck in your car and don’t come back.” I said before turning around and slamming the door in her face. I walked through the living room and into the kitchen to see McKayla sitting at the table.  
“Hey.” She said looking up at me.  
“Hey.”  
“Everything alright?”  
“Ya, just tying off a few loose ends, that’s all.” I told her before taking a seat at the table next to her. Putting my head down on the table, I feel her hand on my back rubbing it gently.  
“Hey McKayla, get your stuff together. We’re leaving in a little bit.” Aaron says popping his head through the back door.  
A while later, McKayla and Aaron were getting ready to leave. I was sitting on the front porch waiting for McKayla to come outside.  
“Well, I guess I’ll see you later Daryl.”  
“Yea, I guess you will.” She leans up and kisses me on the cheek before running down the steps to get into Aaron’s car. At that moment, it reminded me when I was eleven and watching her leaving with her mama. I walked back inside and straight into my room. I need to lay down or something.  
Later on that night, Aaron showed back up and Merle left with him. They asked me if I wanted to go with but I didn’t feel like it. I sat down in front of the TV and watched some stupid cop show.  
McKayla’s POV  
Aaron and I pulled into the driveway. Before getting out of the car, we sat there. I know that he’s not coming back down here after he goes back up to Merle’s. So this is our good bye moment.  
“McKayla, I’ll come back in one piece. I promise.”  
“I know you will but it still doesn’t get any easier.” I said with tears in my eyes. He grabs my shoulder and pulls me close to him. A few minutes later, I watched him pull out of the driveway and disappear.  
“Hey baby girl. How was your night?” I heard my mama say.  
“It was good. I had fun.”  
“That’s good. How was Daryl and Merle?”  
“Oh um, didn’t really see much of Merle. I hung out with Daryl though and he seemed good.”  
“Okay. Just so you know Kimmy’s been callin’ you all mornin’.” I told her okay and headed upstairs to call her.  
“About damn time you called me back.” She said when she answered.  
“Sorry, I was with my brother. What’s going on?”  
“McKayla you ain’t gonna like what I have to tell ya.”  
“Kimmy, what the hell is going on?”  
“Zack cheated on you last night with Brittany Slater.” My heart immediately sank but I didn’t cry. I told Kimmy thank you for telling me and hung up the phone.  
Walking down the stairs, I asked my mom for the car keys and told her that I was going over to Kimmy’s. She didn’t need to know exactly where I was going or what I was doing right now. All I saw was red and I wanted to confront Zack.  
I pulled up to his house and parked at the curb. Taking a deep breath, I got out and walked up the path. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. When he opened the door, he looked shocked.  
“McKayla, what are…”  
“How was your night?” I said interrupting him. He looked down automatically.  
“That’s what I thought.” I took of his class ring that he gave to me the last football game and chucked it at him.  
“McKayla, listen to me. I was drunk, I wasn’t thinking straight. She doesn’t mean anything to me. I lo…”  
“I’m going to stop you right there. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have gotten drunk to the point you fucked the head cheerleader. If you loved me, you wouldn’t start coming up with excuses. You don’t love me because if you did, you would know that you just broke my heart.” I turned around to start to leave but Zack grabbed me and shoved me against the wall. The back of my head hit the doorknob shaped coat rack that hangs on the wall. Instant pain shot through my head. I tried to push him off of me but he was stronger than I am. He slammed me against the wall which left me extremely winded.  
“I don’t care what you think McKayla. I don’t care what you have to say. Brittany and I have been screwing around for months. The only reason why I’ve kept you around for so long, is because couches from Universities are looking at me. And with you being so smart, they’ll know I’m doing something good at least besides being an all-star.”  
“So you’re just using me to get into a good school.”  
“Exactly and that’s not the only thing I’ll be using you for soon.” He leans in to try to kiss me but I turned my head. That’s when I felt a sharp sting across my face.  
“Don’t try to resist me. I’m taking what’s mine tonight.”  
“Zack, don’t do this please.” That’s when his fist met my face and sent me falling to the ground. His foot kicked my side and I curled up in a ball on my side holding my stomach. He kneeled down next to me and pulled me up by my hair before punching me again.  
I could feel him pick me up and I’m roughly throwing me on something somewhat soft. I couldn’t open my eyes though. His hands were on me and trying to take of my clothes from what I could gather. I tried to stop him but he kept hitting my hands out of the way. I felt my hands being tied together above my head and my heart began to race.  
“You scream, I swear I’ll make sure you won’t see the light of day.” Everything went dark after that and I wasn’t sure what to do.


	4. Broken (June 93')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Physical and Sexual Violence in this chapter, as well as strong language.

McKayla’s POV  
The only thing I could feel when I came to was weight on top of me, moving back and forth. Slowly, I became aware of pressure and pain in between my legs. There was pain in my face, ribs, head and arms. My eyes started to tear up as I realized what was going on. Zack was beat me and is now raping me. That’s what he was meaning by he’s taking what’s his tonight.  
“You’re awake.” I heard him say as I felt him move in and out of me roughly.  
“Zack please stop.”  
“I don’t think so. You feel so good.”  
“Zack stop!” I screamed and his hands were around my throat cutting off my air.  
“I thought I told you not to scream. I’m going to fuck you till I’m done with ya.” His hand was still around my throat but he loosened his grip. He slammed into me hard and fast. My entire body was in pain and I just wanted it all to end.  
“Oh God!” That’s the last thing I heard before he slammed in me one more time. I felt something warm inside of me and it made me feel sick. He rolled off of me and then disappeared for a minute. When he came back in, he untied my wrists and dragged me down to the floor.  
“Bitches belong on the floor.” He said and my head hit his side table. Once again, everything went dark.  
A while later, I woke up and saw that Zack was passed out on his bed. I took the opportunity to get up and find my clothes. Standing up, I felt dizzy but I was able to find my balance. I grabbed my jeans and t-shirt and threw both of them on. I don’t even care about my panties and bra right now. I need to get out of there.  
I ran down the stairs and out the front door to my car. Sliding into the driver’s side, I reached into the glove box for the hidden spare key to the car. I wasn’t about to search for my car keys inside. I didn’t want to get caught by Zack while doing that. I started the car and sped off.  
I wasn’t even sure where to go. If I went home, my mama would most likely have a heart attack. I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I wanted to go somewhere where I knew he couldn’t fine me. A couple hours later, I pulled outside of Daryl’s place. I didn’t even remember how I even got here.  
I shut the car off and noticed Aaron’s car wasn’t here. There was a light on inside from where I was sitting. I turned on the light inside of the car and looked in the mirror. My breathing hitched when I saw my reflection.  
I had a busted lip, my entire left side of my face was swollen and both of my eyes were practically black and blue. My head was throbbing and I reached behind me to feel a bump. When I pulled my hand back, it was covered in dried blood.  
I got out of the car finally and started walking up the steps. I banged on the door and I heard footsteps walking towards it. The door opened to Daryl standing there. I wrapped my arms around his waist and immediately started crying.   
Daryl’s POV  
I passed out on the couch until I heard someone banging on the door. For a minute I thought it was a cop which wouldn’t be the first time. I stood up and walked over to the door to open it. Next thing I know, I have arms wrapping around my waist. I look down a little bit and realize it’s McKayla.  
“McKayla? McKayla, what’s going on?” I was able to get my hands under her so I could make her look up at me. When our eyes met, my heart sank when I saw what happened to her. Her entire face was bloody and bruised.  
“Who the fuck did this to you?”  
“Zack did.”  
“Your boyfriend Zack?”  
“He’s not my boyfriend anymore.” I heard her say and her knees gave out. I caught her and picked her up to bring her to the couch. That’s when I realized she didn’t have a bra on, I would’ve been able to feel the straps under her shirt. I sat down on the couch with her still in my arms. There’s no way she’s going to let me go right now.  
“McKayla, did he do anything else to you?” She looked up at me and she didn’t even have to say it. I knew from the look in her eyes what he did to her. That son of a bitch. I tightened my grip around her to hold her closer to my body.   
She started to cry harder as she buried her face in my chest. That’s when I heard a car pull up. Car doors opening and shutting followed by laughter. Aaron and Merle are back and I know that their drunk.  
“McKayla, can you stand?” She nods and she slowly stands up.  
“I want you to go into my room. I’ll be in there in a minute. Can ya do that for me?” She nods and I watch her walk slowly into my bedroom. From where I was now standing, I could see her lay down on my bed. Then the door swung open.  
“Darylenna!”  
“Merle not now. Where’s Aaron?”  
“’m right here!”  
“Will you both be a little quieter? Aaron, I gotta talk to you.” Both of them were completely drunk and that’s when I finally noticed what time it was. Two in the morning. She drove here at two in the morning.  
“What got your panties in a twist Darylenna?” Merle said.  
“Aaron, your sister is here. She’s laying in my bed right now.”  
“Why is McKayla here? How’d the fuck she get here?”  
“I’m guessin’ your mama’s car. But that’s not all she brought.” He looked at me and started walking towards my room. I stopped him before he got too far.  
“Daryl, let me go.”  
“Aaron, wait a minute. Her boyfriend Zack beat the shit out of her and raped her.” His face sunk as soon as I said that. I watched his legs give out underneath him and he hit the ground. Merle squatted down next to him but I just stood there not sure what to do.  
“Aaron, we gotta take her to the hospital.”  
“I know” I told him to go get the car started. Walking into my bedroom, I see McKayla laying on my bed. Sitting at the edge, I tough her shoulder and she jumps.  
“McKayla, it’s me Daryl. It’s okay.”  
“Daryl?” She jumps up and wraps her arms around my neck. I took that chance for me to pick her up so I can carry her outside to the car. Aaron and Merle were both standing outside waiting for us. I shook my head when I saw Aaron rushing towards us. He stopped dead in his tracks when I shook my head. I watched him open the front passenger door and I carefully put her in there.  
“Daryl, don’t leave me.”  
“I won’t. I’ll be right next to you in a minute.” I said before shutting the car door.  
“Aaron, you and Merle need to go pick up your mom and tell her what happened. I’ll get her to the hospital.” As soon as I said that, Aaron’s hand was on my shoulder and he squeezed it.  
“I’m glad you were here Daryl.” He said before both of them got into his car. I got into the car that McKayla was in and started driving. A little later, I pulled up to the emergency room entrance and parked the car. I got out to walk to her side and opened the door.  
“Daryl, where are we?”  
“McKayla, we’re at the hospital.”  
“Why?”  
“McKayla, you need to get checked out.” She just nodded and I picked her up. I walked inside with her in my arms. The emergency room people looked like a committed the crime when I walked in there.  
“What happened to her?” I heard a nurse ask.  
“Her piece of shit boyfriend beat her and raped her.” They had me follow them down a hallway and into a room. I tried to put her down on a bed but she had a death grip around my neck.  
“Daryl, don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” I looked up at the nurse and she shook her head.  
“I’m not going anywhere McKayla.” She let go of me finally and I took a small step back. Under this light, I could see everything he did to her. A few more nurses came in, followed by a police officer. The officer wanted to ask me a few questions which I answered.  
A while later, Merle, Aaron and his mom walked through the door. McKayla was sent down to get some scans apparently so I was in the waiting room waiting. I started to feel sick. I watched her mama crying and holding onto Aaron. My entire body felt numb as I waited for McKayla to get back to her room.


	5. Back To School (August 93')

McKayla’s POV  
The rest of the summer went by slow after I got out of the hospital. I practically locked myself in my room the rest of the summer, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. Daryl, came by on the weekends to talk to me which he was the only one I would talk to. Mama understood why though, since I ran to him after everything happened with Zack. Kimmy calls to check up on me but it’s only a few minute phone call.  
The first week back to school has been absolute hell. Everyone is either giving me blank stares, blank smiles or the cold shoulder. The guys on the football team have been giving me harsh looks all week and it feels like their al trying to ruin what’s left of my shattered heart and soul. My friend Kimmy is the only one treating me the same. She says to just ignore them and I’ve been trying, really trying.  
As I walk into last period English, all eyes are on me. I take a deep breath and take a seat. A tap on my shoulder startles me. A note is placed in my hand. I open it and the one thing that stands out is the “Scarlet A” in the middle of the page surrounded by a bunch of names.  
I crumble it up and get out of my seat to quickly move towards the door. I’m on auto pilot. I run down the hallway and out the main doors of the school. I want to scream, punch something or someone. Everyone in this school is torturing me.  
I sit down on the front steps and put my head in my hands. As I run my hand through my hair, I finally look up. And he’s there. The guy that after that night and before made everything better. I get up and run to him.  
Next thing I know, I’m in his arms and he’s holding me. His arms are around me neck and mine are buried in his chest along with my face. Tears begin to fall down my cheeks. Daryl must’ve sensed it because he grabs my shoulders and pushes me back so he can see my face.  
“McKayla, what’s wrong?” He asks as he cups my face with both hands and uses his thumb to wipe the tears that have fallen down my face. My bottom lip quivers as I reach into my pocket to give him the note. I watch him open it and glance at it. Shaking his head, he crumples it back up and tosses it. He cups my face again and lifts my face so I’m looking him in the eyes.  
“McKayla, you listen to me. Everthin’ that happened ain’t yer fault. He’s a piece of shit that used you.”  
“I know he is Daryl but it still hurts.”  
“It’ll hurt. Trust me. I know.” I pulled me into his arms again and he leaned up against his truck. We were standing there for a while before we heard the school alarm go off. He opened the passenger door and I got in. I watched him walk around to the other side of the truck and got in. He started his truck and started driving out of the parking lot as everyone started to come out.  
A few minutes later, I realized that he wasn’t taking me home which was perfectly fine. I didn’t want to go home anyways.  
“Daryl, where are we going?”  
“It’s a surprise. Just relax.” A few minutes later, I see a Ferris wheel in the distance. I look over to him and he’s smiling.  
“We’re going to a carnival?”  
“Yep. I heard about it a few days ago and felt like taking ya.” I smiled when he said that.  
All summer, he always thought of ways to keep my mind from going back to that night. After the week I’ve had, this was the best surprise I’ve had in a while. We pull into the field and park next to a few cars that are lined up. He shuts the truck off before hoping out and walking to my side to let me out.  
“So what do you wanna do first?”  
“I have no idea. I haven’t been to a carnival since I was little.”  
“I’ve never been to one at least that I can remember.” I moved closer to him as we walked into the carnival. Grabbing his hand and linking my fingers into his. I know he feels uneasy about holding my hand but it makes me feel better.  
“How about we go on the Ferris wheel?” He asks me and we watch couples sitting, holding each other as it makes its way around and kissing when they reach the top. We walked over to the ticket booth and Daryl handed the guy money for the tickets. Daryl grabbed my hand and led me to the Ferris wheel. He handed the guy two tickets and we took a seat on the ride.  
I put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. Knowing that there’s an age difference between us makes everything complicated. The past few months, we’ve grown closer to one another.  
“So what do you wanna go on after this?” He asks me, as we continue making our way up.  
“I want to race you.” I say pointing at the go-cart track.  
“Ya sure you’re up for that?”  
“Yep. I want to see if I can beat you.” He started laughing at that.  
“Alright, wanna make a bet then?”  
“Depends on the bet.” I say with a smirk.  
“Okay. What should I get if I win?” He asks me.  
“You get to rub it in whenever you want.”  
“I’d do that either way but alright. What do you get if you win?” I thought about it.  
“A kiss.” I tell him and he turns to look at me. He doesn’t say anything until we reach the top. That’s when I felt his hand on my cheek and him turning my face to look at him. Then his lips were on mine. He kissed me gently but stopped as soon as we made our way back down.  
“I was plannin’ on kissing you anyways McKayla.” I smiled when he said that and shook my head. He kissed me and it felt absolutely perfect. That was our first kiss and it was on top of a Ferris wheel, talk about a damn clique.  
Daryl’s POV  
I’ve been wanting to kiss McKayla for a while now but I never knew if she wanted me to or not. Then the bet happened and she said she wanted a kiss if she won. That gave me chance to do it but I wanted to catch her slightly off by kissing her when we got up top. Her skin was soft under my calloused hands but she didn’t flinch. I leaned in and put my lips to hers.  
I wanted to be as gentle as I possibly could. I didn’t have much experience with kissing, unless you wanted to count the drunk kissing with some of the chicks in town. That’s what I thought about when I kissed her, then the ride started going back down.  
“I was plannin’ on kissing you anyways McKayla.” I told her and she smiled. We sat back to our original positions, this time she was sitting a little closer to me.  
Once we were done with the ride, I grabbed her hand and led her towards the go-cart track. She tugged my hand and pulled me in between one of the stands.  
“What in the world are you doin”?”  
“Shut up and kiss me Daryl.” I didn’t have to be asked twice. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and my arms were wrapped around her waist when I our lips met.  
“You two! Get out of here now!” Someone yelled and I grabbed her hand to run out of there. Both of us began to laugh after that.  
“Hey I’ll be right back. Stay right here.” I told her, leaving her in front of one of the stands. I needed to readjust myself after that little moment between the stands. When I returned, she had something in her hands.  
“What’s that?”  
“A vest.” She told me and held it up so I could get a better look. It was a nice leather vest. When I flipped it over, there was a large set of angel wings on the back. I looked up to her and she was smiling.  
“Who’s this for?”  
“It’s for you Daryl.”  
“Ya didn’t have to get me anythin’.”  
“I know that but I wanted to.” I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before sliding on the leather vest. It was a little big but not by much.  
“Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome.” She grabs my hand and we walk towards the go-carts once again. This time we didn’t get distracted before we got there. I gave the guy our tickets and we raced. I let her win though, not without a fight though.  
We continued to walk around the carnival until it started to get dark. I didn’t even realize it but we were heading towards my truck. She kept inching closer to me, even though she was holding my hand.  
“Ready to go home?” I ask her, not wanting to hear the answer.  
“Not really but I know I probably should.” We’re standing next to the passenger side door. I finally let go of one of her hands to open the door for her. She’s the only one I’ve ever opened the door or doors for. She hops in and I go to my side to get in as well.  
We drive in basically complete silence back to her house. When I pulled up in front of her house, she hesitated on getting out. I didn’t want her to leave and I didn’t even want to leave.  
“Tonight was fun. Thanks for cheering me up Daryl.”  
“Anytime.” She leaned closer to me to kiss me on the cheek but I took that opportunity to pull her into a kiss. I placed my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her lips to mine. We kissed for a while in the front seat of my beat up truck. When we stopped kissing, she looked at me with her big blue eyes and smiled before getting out of the truck.  
I watched her walk up the path to her front door and until she was inside before pulling away from the curb. Most guys would probably walk the girl to the front door but I’m not like most guys. If I were to walk her to her door, I wouldn’t be able to leave. She’s intoxicating and I have no idea what she’s doing to me.  
The drive home seemed like it took forever. My mind was clouded and I couldn’t stop thinking the entire time. When I pulled into the driveway, I saw a car outside and I knew already who was here. Taking a deep breath before getting out of the truck, I made my way up to the front door.  
“Merle inside?” I asked Tanya. She’s beautiful in her own way. Long brown hair, green eyes and small. Merle calls her a rag doll cause you can flip her anyway you want most of the time.  
“Nope. He left about a half hour ago.”  
“Get your ass inside.” I tell her.  
“What? You finally come to your senses?”  
“Shut the hell up before I change my mind.” This might seem like a dick move but I don’t know it any other way. This is what I do and what I’ve done for a few years now. Ever since Merle brought a chick home for me and him, this is what I’ve done. It’s all I know. We walk into my bedroom and I close the door. When I turned around Tanya was staring at me while biting her lip.   
“You love her don’t you?”  
“What are you talkin’ about Tanya?”  
“Daryl, we both know that we would’ve already been halfway undressed right now. You love her but you ain’t admitting it to yourself.”  
“Are we gonna do this or what? I ain’t got time for this shit Tanya.”  
“Oh we are. I just wanted to say that first.” I watch her take off her top off, exposing her breasts as she walks over to me. I feel her hands begin to work on my pants before she drops to her knees. The rest is history.


	6. Quarry (October 93')

Daryl’s POV  
It’s late October and I’ve been avoiding McKayla at all costs. I haven’t talked or seen her since I dropped her off after the carnival. She’s called but I told Merle to tell her that I’m out. He tells her that I’ll call her back but I never do. I’m not even sure what to say to her anymore.  
That night with her changed my entire view point. When I kissed her, something inside of me came back to life. Something that I haven’t felt since I was younger, before my mama died. I felt love and it scares the living hell out of me. That’s the whole reason why I was partially happy Tanya was there that night when I got home. I needed a distraction and burying myself inside of her was one way I became distracted.  
“Daryl! You awake in there?” I hear Merle yelling from the other side of my door. Getting up, I open the door and he’s glaring at me.  
“What’s that look for?”  
“Stop moppin’ around baby brother. Tony’s on his way here with Eric.” Tony is Merle’s dealer and Eric is his little brother. Their some high class rich boys which is weird to think about. Eric and I are friends to a fault. We just deal with each other.  
“And your point is what?”  
“You need some cheerin’ up. So get yer ass dressed already.” He walks away and I shake my head before closing the door to get dressed.  
A while later, I’m sitting outside with Eric after him and his brother got here. Tony and Merle are inside doing whatever they’re doing. I usually let them be when Tony gets here. I don’t want to see it. Merle has an addiction to drugs but it helps him with his demons that’s inside of him.  
“Hey ya want any?” Eric asks me, holding out a joint.  
“Naw man. That shit fucks with my head way too much.”  
“Suit yourself dude. You seem stressed though.”  
“Ya, I usually am.” I say taking a swig of my coke and stare into the fire.  
“Daryl, what the hell is up man?”  
“I don’t know anymore. I’m just confused.” I hear Eric laugh under his breath and I look over at him.  
“What’s her name?” What the hell? How the hell did he know it was about a chick?  
“McKayla, if you must know.” I say shaking my head. Just saying her name makes me want to go see her even more than thinking about her.  
“What’s goin’ on between you two?”  
“Nothin’ that’s the thing. I ran before we even…” I couldn’t even finish that sentence. My mind is in over drive. I reach into my pocket and pull out my pack to light a cigarette. Eric is still staring at me which is making me nervous.  
“Daryl, come with me tonight. A buddy of mine from school is throwing a party at a quarry. Plenty of chicks of all ages and booze.”  
“Where’s it at?”  
“It’s in Canton.” I looked directly at him when he said that. Canton is where McKayla lives.  
“Eric, you know a girl named McKayla Forbes?”  
“Ya why? Holy shit, is that the McKayla that has your mind fucked?” I nod when he said that. He talks me into driving down with them a couple hours later. Eric made sure McKayla was going to be there by calling her friend Kimmy. He told me that if anyone can get her to go to a party it would be Kimmy, apparently she’s very persuasive.  
I asked Eric not to say anything about me being there though. I wanted to surprise her but I hoped that this would be a good surprise for her. The last thing I wanted was for her to get pissed off at me for being there. I wouldn’t know what to do if she didn’t want to see me anymore.  
Following Eric in my truck, we pull onto the road that leads to the quarry. In the distance, I can already see some fires in random places. It’s gradually beginning to get cold but with it being night, it gets a tad bit colder. Eric parks next to a few cars and I park next to him. He hops out and so do I.  
“Ya ready?” Eric asks me and I just nod. I follow him down a path that leads us to the party. The amount of people here makes me feel a little uneasy. I’m not used to being around so many people. Eric disappears for a minute before returning with a red solo cup.  
“Here. It looks like you need it.”  
“Thanks man.” I say before chugging the entire beer down. When I was done, Eric was staring at me.  
“What?”  
“Nothin’. Your girl is over there.” He tells me and points over in the distance. I turn and see McKayla sitting on a tail gate, talking to a darker skinned chick which I assume is Kimmy. I start walking towards her but I get cut short when she starts yelling at a group of jocks. I can only make out some of what she’s saying but she looks pissed.  
I stay back until I see her jump off the tail gate and walk off. The other girl that was with her, stayed back by the truck. I followed her to make sure she was alright. By the looks of it, it seems like she’s been drinking a little too much. She’s stumbling all over the path that leads into the woods away from everyone.  
Shaking my head, I walk a little bit faster behind her. She needs to know that I’m here, without me scaring the shit out of her. When we were younger, this is something we did. She would follow me, I’d disappear then I’d pop out. This is different though, I’m following her and she has no idea that I’m even behind her. If I make one wrong move, this could end badly and she could start screaming bloody murder. That’s the last thing we need right now.  
McKayla’s POV  
It’s been almost two months since I’ve heard or seen Daryl since he dropped me off at home. I’m not even sure why he’s even blowing me off. I’ve called him, once a week and all I’ve gotten was “he’s not home” or “he’ll call you back” from Merle. The last thing I want to be is that girl that acts like clingy but you still don’t kiss someone, more than once and then disappear.  
I’m forgetting about it though. Kimmy told me that there’s a party at the quarry tonight and I’m going. For the first time ever, I’m going to drop my guard and drink until I throw up. My hair is done, I have the littlest bit of make-up on because honestly, I don’t need much and Kimmy brought me a killer outfit. Tight, somewhat short navy blue dress that shows my back, that Kimmy let me borrow for the night.  
When we walked down the stairs, my mom was walking out of the dining room. She raised her eye brow in concern but continued on her way. I grabbed my jacket, told my mom I was leaving and walked out the door. Getting into my mom’s car, I checked my make-up one last time before starting it and driving away. Tonight is going to be a good night.  
The drive to the quarry takes about a half hour. When I turned down the path that leads to the quarry, I could already see Kimmy’s car off in the distance. I continued driving and parked next to her car. She was sitting in her front seat, doing something when I pulled up next to her. I don’t think she even realized I was there, until I got out and tapped on the window.  
“Oh hey, sorry. I was doing something.” She said opening her car door to get out.  
“It’s fine. I just got here anyways.”  
“You look hot McKayla. That dress works perfectly for you.”  
“Thanks. I don’t think my mama liked it though.”  
“Why?”  
“She gave me one of her disapproving looks.” Kimmy shrugs and grabs my hand to lead me to the entire group of people. She leads me straight to the kegs and hands me a cup. I hear her say bottoms up and she starts chugging down the beer. I shortly follow and I down the entire beer. When I finished, Kimmy and a few others were staring at me.  
“What? Never seen a chick drink a beer before? Damn.” I said grabbing another cup and walking away. Kimmy followed me but she pulled me towards a few of our mutual friends. I sat on the tailgate of a truck after asking permission and drank the entire cup in one sip. I’m not one for drinking but apparently I needed it.  
That’s when I saw some of the football players shifting their eyes towards me and whispering amongst themselves. They don’t have the right to still be acting like everything that happened was my fault. Daryl told me it wasn’t my fault and I believe him. Before that day, I thought it was my fault but now, I know it’s not. All of this needs to end now.  
“If ya’ll got somethin’ to say, how about ya say it to my face, instead of actin’ like a bunch of pussies and whisperin’.”   
“McKayla, don’t.” Kimmy says.  
“Fine, I’ll say something. You ruined Zack’s career you fuckin’ slut. You probably didn’t even get beat or raped by him.”  
“Seriously? You think I would lie to get Zack locked up? He fucked Brittany Slater for Christ’s sakes.”  
“Exactly, you probably just used that as revenge.” He says before beginning to turn around. I chug the rest of my drink and throw the cup at him. It hits the back of his head and he whips around.  
“If I wanted revenge on Zack, I’d do it a hell of a lot differently than saying he beat the shit out of me and raped me in the process. Ya’ll ain’t no better than him if you think that I had any control of what Zack did to me that night. Ya’ll weren’t even there.” I said before hoping of the tailgate and grabbing another cup in the process. Chugging that one down before walking away from everyone and throwing it on the ground.  
I’m beyond the words of pissed off and I need to get away for a minute. Walking down a path that leads through the woods, I begin to feel dizzy. I know it’s due to the fact that I’ve chugged down at least three beers since I got here. I’m stumbling all over the path and I have to keep my mind focused so I don’t fall. I think me passing out in the woods would be horrible right now.  
I continue walking when I heard a branch snapping behind me. I wanted to stop to see what or who was behind me but I couldn’t. It was probably just an animal so I pushed that thought from my mind. Then I heard it again and I whipped around ready to punch whoever was following me.  
“McKayla, hey, calm down.” I heard him say. That’s when I realized who it was.  
“Daryl? What the hell are you doin’?”  
“Um, followin’ you so you don’t collapse from being drunk.”  
“Well thanks but I can handle myself.” I say turning back around which made me even dizzier. I stumbled backwards but Daryl caught me in time before I actually fell.  
“Damn it McKayla, how much have ya had to drink?”  
“Um, three beers but I kinda chugged them.” I told him as I continued to lean up against him. His arms are wrapped around my waist and my hands are resting on his. He loosens his grip and I turn in his arms to face him. His jaw is tense and he’s glaring down at me.  
“McKayla, what are you doin’? Chugging down beers and runnin’ off. You want somethin’ to happen to you again?”  
“Are you serious right now? You’re mad at me for drinking?” I tell him and I force his hands off of me.  
“McKayla.”  
“Don’t touch me Daryl.” I say as he reaches for me again.  
“McKayla, listen to me please.”  
“Why should I? You disappeared after you kissed me. Yes I wanted you to kiss me but that doesn’t mean you kiss someone and then run and that’s exactly what you did.” I yelled at him and then walked away. I know he’s still standing there but I don’t care. I need to put some distance between us.


	7. I Know You (October 93')

McKayla’s POV  
My eyes are beginning to swell up with tears as my thoughts took over. My heart feels like it’s breaking into a million pieces all over again. My body is beginning to feel numb as I continued walking down the path. My face is wet with my tears and I try my hardest to wipe them away but it’s not working.  
I can hear him walking behind me but I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to face him right now. I just want to be left alone right now but I know that won’t be possible. When I finally stopped and turned around, he was still walking towards me slowly. Then he picked up his pace.  
“Daryl, what…” His hands cup my face and pushing his lips against mine. He releases my face and shifts his hands down to my waist to pull me closer to the warmth of his body. I wrap my arms around his neck asthe kiss deepens. Next thing I know, I’m being lifted up in the air and I wrap my legs around his waist. He pushes me up against a tree and the bark begins to dig into my back but I don’t care.  
My fingers are tangled in his hair and pulling on it gently. He’s making a growling noise every time I do that which makes him break his kiss to start kissing me down my neck. Throwing my head back as he begins to nip at the skin over my collarbone. This needs to stop now but it feels too good.  
“Daryl, please stop.”  
“Sorry. I…” he says placing me back down on the ground.  
“Daryl, where were you?” I ask him. He shifts and I can tell he’s shutting me out.  
“I’ve been busy.”  
“Don’t do this Daryl. Not now. Not after everything.”  
“McKayla, you don’t understand. I’m no good for you.” He says grabbing my face between both of his hands. I huffed and moved his hands off of me. Shaking my head, I had all the intensions of either walking away or slapping him. I stepped back a few feet though to put some distance between us.  
“How can you even stand there and say that you’re no good for me Daryl?”  
“How can you stand there and tell me that I am?” I took a deep breath before walking over to him. Placing a hand over his heart, I looked into his eyes. His eyes are a deeper blue than they typically are.  
“I know because of what’s in here Daryl. You were there for me when I needed someone. Not many people were there for me but you were.” He put his hand over mine and leaned forward so our foreheads could touch.  
“How can you have so much faith in me McKayla?” He said in almost a whisper.  
“Because I know you Daryl.” He pulls my hand off of his chest and wraps it around his waist. His arms wrapped around my shoulder to pull me into a hug. My head is pressed against his chest and I can hear his heart beating almost out of his chest.  
We stood there in the woods for a while, just holding each other. Not saying a single word to each other. Then we heard the sound of sirens of cop cars and Daryl grabbed my hand to lead me towards everything.  
“Daryl, what are you doing?”  
“Shhh.” He stops as soon as we see all the cop cars and everyone getting arrested. We’re hidden by all the trees so no one can see us. He squeezes my hand and pulls me farther down the tree line towards our cars.   
“Daryl, how are we supposed to get out of here without being seen?” I whispered.  
“That I’m not sure yet. If it was just me, I could get out of here but I have you to think about so, I’m thinkin’.” He replies and I stop for a moment. He turns around and puts his hands up as a surrender. Apparently he knew that his reply was rude.  
A couple minutes later, we reach his truck but were still stuck in the tree line. The cops are still around and a majority of the cars that were here are now gone. I can see mine, Daryl’s truck and a few others. I hear something snap behind me and Daryl tightens his grip on my hand.  
“Follow my lead alright.” Daryl says. I didn’t even get a chance to answer before he turned around with his hands up. I do the same thing when I see light shining on the tree in front of me. A cop is standing there with the flash light shining directly into both of our eyes.  
“You two apart of the quarry party?”  
“Yes sir we are.” Daryl says and my heart is pounding out of my chest.  
“Alright, turn around and walk towards everyone over there.” We listen and start walking. Once were there, the Sheriff turns around and looks at both of us.  
“Found these two in the tree line.”  
“Alright. What’s your name?” He asks me.  
“McKayla Forbes sir.”  
“Are you Pamela Forbes daughter?” I took a deep breath when he asked me that.  
“Yes Sir I am.” He nods and moves on to Daryl. I can hear him take a deep breath. When I looked over to him, his posture is straight and his jaw is tense.  
“What’s your name?”  
“Daryl Dixon.” The Sheriff raises his eye brow.  
“Any relation to Will Dixon?” I could almost hear Daryl swallow and his posture changed again. I don’t remember Daryl’s dad’s first name but by how Daryl’s acting, I’m guessing the Sheriff hit some sort of nerve.  
“Yes sir, that’s my father.” The Sheriff nods and turns around to walk back towards some of the other cops. I grab Daryl’s hand and squeeze it tight but he doesn’t squeeze it back. My heart is pounding.  
Daryl’s POV  
The last thing I expected tonight was hearing a cop say my piece of shit father’s name. I haven’t seen him since I packed up my shit when I was sixteen and walked out the front door. He was passed out drunk in his recliner and that was the perfect time to leave. I left and never looked back. And now it’s like my past is coming back to haunt my present.  
I could feel McKayla squeeze my hand but I was in a state of shock. The cop that asked me that question walked away and is standing by a few others. Every few seconds, I can see them look over here. I look down at McKayla and she was looking up at me. When I looked back in their direction, the cop was walking back over towards us.  
“Daryl, can I speak to you for a moment?” I nod and I follow him away from McKayla.  
“Do you have any idea where your father might be?”  
“No Sir, can’t say I do.” He nods and shifts his eyes to the ground.  
“Alright, well if you find out where he is, give me a call alright. You two are free to go.” He says handing me a card with his information. He started turning around but I needed to ask why he needs him.  
“Sir, why did you need to know where he is?”  
“That’s confidential.” I nod and rub the skin below my bottom lip with my index finger. He walks away and I head back towards McKayla. She looks scared but her face brightens when I give her a reassuring smile. Grabbing her hand, I lead her towards my truck.   
“Daryl, my mom’s car.”  
“We’ll come get it in the morning.” She nods and I open the passenger side door to let her in. I know she laughs deep inside when I do this for her but the door likes to be a pain sometimes. I’ve seen her struggle to get it open a few times when she insists that she can do it. She hops in and I close the door before walking around to the other side to get in myself.  
The drive back to her house was silent. I could almost hear herself think. I know she wants to ask me about what happened back there. I don’t even know how to answer if she were to ask me right now. My mind is basically blank right now.  
When I pulled into her driveway, she hesitated on getting out. Her hand was on the handle but she didn’t open the door to get out. Putting her hand back down, she looks over to me and I can see a faint smile.  
“Daryl, what happened back there, I’m not going to ask you about it. But I want you to know that I’m here for you if you ever need to talk. Alright?” She says, scooting closer to me and placing her hand on my cheek to make me face her. She leans in and kisses me while I wrap my arm around her back to pull her closer to me. I could feel her smiling when I did that and she ends up breaking the kiss to climb on top of my lap.   
Instead of her straddling me which I knew that’s what she was planning on doing, I pulled her so she was sitting on my lap. Both of her legs were stretched across the seat and her arms are wrapped around my neck. We found each other’s lips again and now I feel like that dumb teenager that doesn’t know what to do with his hands.   
“Daryl, you’re not going to hurt me.” She says momentarily breaking the kiss and grabbing my hand to place it on her upper thigh. She looks me in the eyes and smiles before capturing my lips again. The intensity between us has changed from the first time we kissed to now. There’s a need, there’s a hunger that’s building deep inside the both of us.  
“McKayla, wait a minute, I have to tell you something.” Her eyes open and she’s staring at me. I took a deep breath and looked down burying my face in her chest. I could hear her take a sharp breath in when I did that and her fingers are in my hair tugging on it to make me look back up at her.  
“Talk to me when you’re ready Daryl. I’m not forcing you to tell me anything.”  
“I know but this is something that I need to say.”  
“Okay. Just tell me when you’re ready though because obviously it’s something big.” I nod and I looked her in the eyes before grabbing her hand in mine. Her hands are cold and soft compared to mine.  
“You remember that chick that stopped over when you came over that night with your brother?”  
“Yea. Wasn’t her name Tanya?”  
“Ya. Tanya was there on my doorstep when I got home from the carnival.”  
“Okay, so? You two were something at some point right?” I took a deep breath before looking back up to look her in the eyes once again.  
“I don’t know what we were but we…hooked up…that night.” McKayla didn’t say anything but I watched her bite her bottom lip. One of her new habits that I noticed over the past few months.  
“Do you love her?”  
“No.” I didn’t hesitate when she asked me that because I don’t love Tanya. It was always about sex with her. I never felt anything more when I was with her. I’ve never felt anything before I met McKayla again.  
We continued to sit there for a few minutes before she moved off of my lap. She opened the door and hopped out. I was expecting her to slam the door and walk away but she turned around to give me a smile.  
“Are you coming?”  
“What?”  
“Where else are you planning on sleeping tonight Daryl? Mama won’t have a problem with you staying.” I nod and I get out of the truck to follow her inside. I heard her yell for her mama because she doesn’t sleep until McKayla is home. Staying back in the main entry until her mama knew I was here to make sure it was alright that I could stay.  
“Mama!” I heard McKayla yell again.  
“Daryl!” I took off in the direction I heard McKayla’s voice. What I found, I’ll never forget.


	8. Breaking Point (October 93')

McKayla’s POV  
My entire body is numb and I can’t tell what’s real anymore. I’m sitting in the waiting room of the hospital with Daryl which is pacing back and forth. He’s been up and moving to keep himself busy for what seems like hours now. Nurses keep coming up to me and asking me how I’m doing but I haven’t answer. A social worker has even came up to me to talk but I can’t seem to find any words right now. Daryl has tried to get me to say something but what am I even supposed to say.  
When I got home with Daryl and walked through the front door, I started to yell for my mom but I couldn’t find her. I walked into the kitchen to find her on the floor and there was blood all over the floor. I yelled for Daryl and he came in fast. He told me to call 9-1-1 but I couldn’t move. There was so much blood but Daryl didn’t seem fazed by it at all. The rest was a complete blur.  
My eyes feel heavy from being awake for so long and the fact that I’ve been crying. We haven’t heard anything about what happened to my mom. The only thing we know is that she is alive but she’s in critical condition. We’re not even sure what happened yet.  
“McKayla?” I heard Daryl say and I looked up to him.  
“Hey, you need to eat something. Let’s go down to the cafeteria and eat something.”  
“I’m not hungry.”  
“Okay but your still coming with me whether you like it or not.” He says while holding out his hand so I could grab it and stand up. I think I may have stood up to fast because the room spun a little bit but Daryl grabbed me in time.  
“And that’s why you need to eat something. Nothing major but you need something in your stomach.” We started walking towards the entrance to the cafeteria when we heard a set of doors open from behind us.  
“Forbes family.” Daryl and I both turned around to walk towards a man in a scrubs.  
“Are you related to Pamela Forbes?”  
“Yes she’s my mother.” He nods and glances over to Daryl before telling us anything.  
“Your mother is stable for now but she’s in a medically induced coma. We believe that her legs gave out on her which caused her to hit her head on the counter. I talked to the police that were there and that’s what they believe as well.”  
“When can I see her?”  
“Not until she’s more stable. We can’t take the chance right now. I think for right now, it may be best for you to go home and get some rest.”  
“Okay. Thank you.” I say before turning around and heading towards the cafeteria with Daryl. I barely got through the doors before I collapsed on the ground and started crying. Daryl’s arms are wrapped around me and trying to pull me back up to my feet but it resulted in him picking me completely up. Some nurses were around, offering help but kept shaking his head.  
My arms are wrapped around his neck and my head is buried in his chest. I hear the doors slide open and the cold October air creeps across my skin. Someway, somehow, he ended up getting me into his truck without even putting me down. I don’t want to leave the hospital but I know for a fact that I don’t have a say in the matter. Daryl gets in, starts the truck and pulls away.  
“McKayla, when we get back to your place, I want you to do three things. Can you do that for me?”  
“Depends on what they are.”  
“I want you to call Aaron, eat something and sleep.”  
“Okay.” I told him and I scooted towards him on the bench. He put his arm around my shoulder and continued to drive. My eyes became heavy and next thing I knew, we were pulling into my driveway.  
“Want me to carry you inside?” I shake my head no and follow him out of the truck to the front door. I stop before walking inside knowing what I’ll find.  
“Hey, you go call your brother, I’ll get us some food alright.” I nod and he walks into the kitchen. I walk into the living room and pick up the phone. Dialing the number for Aaron’s base, I wait a couple seconds before someone picks up on the other end.  
“Camp Lejeune, how may I direct your call?”  
“I’m trying to get ahold of Corporal Aaron Forbes.”  
“May I ask whose calling?”  
“Yes, it’s his sister McKayla Forbes.”  
“Okay ma’am. Please hold a minute.” And I did which soon turned into more ringing. A few seconds later the phone picks up on the other end.  
“McKayla, why are you calling? What’s wrong?” I let out a sob before I could even answer him.  
“It’s mama, Aaron. She collapsed and hit her head. She’s in the hospital.” I could hear Aaron take a deep breath.  
“Is she alright?”  
“She’s stable.”  
“Okay. Are you home alone?”  
“No. Daryl is here with me.”  
“Good. He can stay there until mama’s home but McKayla, I have to go. I’m getting ready to ship out.” I told him okay and we both said our see you soons before hanging up the phone. Daryl was standing there in the doorway. I walked over to him and began to cry. His arms were wrapped around me tightly and he didn’t say anything. He just let me cry into his chest.  
Daryl’s POV  
I walked into the living room where McKayla was and I heard the last part of their conversation. She hung up the phone and rushed over to me to bury her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her to hold her as tight as I possibly could to just let her cry. She needed to let it all out. You can only stay strong for as long as your body can.  
A couple minutes later, I pull her away and cup her face. Her face is stained with her tears and I try to wipe them away but it’s no use. Her eyes are a lighter blue than before and I know it’s from her crying. I knew at that moment that this is her breaking point.  
“Let’s eat real quick and go to bed.”  
“Are you staying with me?”  
“Where else would I be going McKayla?” She smiles softly and I grab her hand to lead her into the dining room, completely avoiding the kitchen. I’ll figure out a way to clean the kitchen once she’s sleeping. She doesn’t need to see any of that right now. I got her to sit down and I could hear a faint chuckle.  
“What? You don’t like mac and cheese or somethin’?”  
“No it’s not that, I just wasn’t expecting mac and cheese.”  
“Well, it’s the only thing I actually know how to cook on a stove.” She looks over at me and raises an eyebrow.  
“What? I mostly cook over a fire or it’s a sandwich or cereal.” As soon as I said that, she started to laugh harder.  
“Daryl, you seriously need a woman to cook for you.” I chuckled while taking a fork full of mac and cheese into my mouth.  
“Got anyone in mind?” I said after I swallowed. She took another bit while smiling and shrugged her shoulders. I laughed and we both finished our food. Before she had a chance, I stood up and grabbed her bowl to put it in the kitchen sink.  
When I returned to the dining room, her hands were clasped together and her forehead was against it. It almost looked like she was praying from where I was standing. I took my seat and sat next to her quietly. She looks exhausted but she still looked beautiful. Standing back up and grab her hand to get her to stand up. I stand about a half a foot taller than her but even her body is smaller than mine. The light from the room hits her eyes as she looks up at me and she smiles.  
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” I say leading her towards the stairs. Just by her walking I can tell how absolutely exhausted she is. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I wrap my arm around her waist before bending down to pick her up to carry her up the stairs. She didn’t even flinch when I did it or fight me. She nestled into my arms and by the time I got her upstairs to her room, she was half asleep.  
“Daryl, will you stay with me?” She asked me as I sat her down on her bed. I was hoping for a clean getaway. Just go downstairs and sleep on the couch but I knew that was going to be impossible as soon as she asked me that.  
“McKayla, I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.”  
“Please. I just need someone here.” The tone in her voice made it sound like she was on the verge of crying. Sitting down on the bed, I open my arms and she nearly dove straight into them then began crying.  
“McKayla, please don’t cry. I’ll stay here with you until you fall asleep. I promise I’ll be here when you wake up. I’m not going anywhere.” With that, she took a deep breath through her tears which made me wrap my arms tighter around her.  
“Are you going to sleep in this or do you need to change?” She nods and moves off her bed to walk to her dresser. I watch her begin to take clothes out of it and setting them on top of the dresser. The last thing I expected was her taking off her top in front of me.  
“McKayla, let me leave the room or at least turn around before ya start strippin’.” I tell her turning around so my back is facing her. She laughed under her breath which didn’t help the situation at hand.  
A minute later, I hear her walking around the bed to stand in front of me. Without moving my head to look at her, my eyes meet hers as she wraps her arms around my neck. Taking a deep breath I end up burying my face in her chest as I wrap my arms around her waist in the process. We stayed like this for a while, not saying a single word until I pulled back to look up at her.  
“We should jus’ go to bed.” I tell her and she smiles while nodding in agreement. I stand up to take off my jeans and the entire times I could feel McKayla’s eyes on me. When I turned around she was already lying in bed under the covers. Taking a deep breath, I climbed into her bed beside her and stretched out my arm so she could lay closer beside me.  
I’m not even sure why I did this but it felt almost natural. McKayla and I never slept next to each other before, actually I never slept next to any chick, not even Tanya. McKayla’s soft skin molding next to my rough, calloused skin makes me feel like I can break her at any possible moment. Her head is resting on my chest, her arm is stretched out over my and her leg is wrapped around my leg.  
“Good night Daryl.” She says before stretching up slightly to kiss me on the cheek. I smiled when she did this before pulling her up closer to me to kiss her on the lips. Placing my hand as soft and gentle as possible on her cheek before pushing my lips against her. I could feel her smiling as our lips met which in return made me smile as well. I could seriously get used to doing this for a long period of time which isn’t something I’ll ever admit to anyone.  
“Good night McKayla.” I say after pulling away. She smiles again before going back to her original position. A few minutes later she was asleep which made me begin falling asleep as well. I wanted to slip away and go downstairs but she had her grasp on me so I couldn’t move a single inch. Then my eyes started getting heavy as I felt her breathing against my side. Eventually I drifted away with her wrapped tightly in my arms.   
This is the one night, I never wanna forget. This is the night, that I came to realize was also my breaking point. This is the night that made me realize that I don’t want to spend my life using women like my brother does. This is the night that I fell in love with her.  
I fell in love with McKayla.


	9. Home Part 1 (December 93')

Daryl’s POV  
Two months ago I came to realize that I’m in love with McKayla, at probably one of the worse times in her life. McKayla’s mother was diagnosed with a disease called ALS. It’s short for some medical mumbo jumbo that I can’t pronounce. From what the doctor told us, it’s a nervous system disease that weakens the muscles. Personally the worse news was when the doctor said that she would most likely die from some type of breathing issue.  
McKayla buried her face in my chest when the doctor told us this. I wasn’t even supposed to be in the room when the doctor told us this but her mom insisted. This was three days after she collapsed at home and what seemed like a million tests later, we finally had our answer. They said her mother is now moving into the middle stages of this disease. What in the hell that’s supposed to mean, I have no idea.  
I’ve been driving back and forth between my home and McKayla’s for the past two months. It’s been slightly stressful but it’s worth it. I get to see McKayla whenever I want and I’m helping both of them out as well. They need a man in the house since Aaron left to go back overseas. McKayla’s mom has thanked me repeatedly a thousand times.  
Speaking of Aaron, I’m currently sitting outside the airport in Atlanta waiting for his ass to get off the plane. I’ve been sitting here in my piece of shit truck for an hour waiting for his ass. Merle was supposed to pick him up but he decided to get locked up once again for doing something stupid. So I decided to pick Aaron up myself to bring him home to his family. That’s the least I could do for Merle letting someone down once again.  
A few minutes later, Aaron walks out of the airport doors in his Marine utility uniform and two bags over his shoulder. It takes him a minute to realize I’m sitting there waiting for him but I stick my hand out the window to wave him over. Finally he realizes it and walks over, throws his bag in the truck bed before getting in.  
“Do I even want to know where Merle is?”  
“Probably not.” I say looking at him. He huffs and shakes his head.  
“What the fuck did he do now?”  
“Somethin’ about a fight, drugs and blood. I don’t know.”  
“How long this time?”  
“Fourteen months then rehab I guess.” I say pulling away from the curb to start heading to the Forbes house.  
We don’t say much during the drive though. Aaron dozes off about twenty minutes into the drive. It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to get back to Canton. It all depends on the traffic and how fast you can go. At least we’ve missed the morning traffic.  
“Aye, can we stop somewhere? I haven’t gotten anything for McKayla and my mom for Christmas yet.”  
“Sure.”  
Christmas is a hard subject for me. I never had one. Might be hard to believe but it’s true. My dad was always drunk, same with my mama. Never had a Christmas tree or opened up a present Christmas morning. Not something my family did and if someone were to find out, I usually just shrugged it off. It never bothered me until I got asked to come to Christmas dinner by McKayla. Her mama asked me what I wanted for Christmas but I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to have. Well that I could tell her mama that I wanted. Honestly the only thing I want is McKayla but I know it’s going to be a while before I can even have her in any way. I can tell that she’s still healing.  
Since that night at the Quarry, we haven’t talked about what happened. I’m fine with it but I’m not sure if she is. Damn I’m seriously starting to sound like a damn female.  
“Man, what the hell has gotten into you?”  
“Huh, what? Nothin’.”  
“Daryl seriously, somethin’ is up with you. What’s up?”  
“Aaron, it’s complicated.” I look over at him and he’s staring at me with a raised eyebrow.  
“Daryl, I’m gonna ask ya a question and ya better answer it.” He says pointing at a sign for a turn off so he can get something for his mom and McKayla.  
“Alright.” By this time my heart is pounding.  
“Are you fucking my sister?”  
“What the fuck makes you think I’m dumb enough to do something like that Aaron?”  
“Answer the question Daryl.”  
“No I’m not. I ain’t like my brother that bangs every female he comes in contact with.” Aaron doesn’t say anything else.   
I park in a parking space and we both get out to head towards the antique looking shop. We walked in silence but Aaron looked like he was on a mission with how fast he’s walking. He made it to the doors before I barely made it out of the parking lot. By the time I finally made it through the front doors, Aaron was already gone. I walked around for a few minutes before stopping in front of the jewelry department. I’m not fully sure why I even stopped here but something behind the glass caught my eye so I stepped closer to get a better look.  
It was a bracelet with charms on it. I looked closer at some of the charms and a few of them reminded me of the time McKayla and I spent with each other. A motorcycle charm for the first night we met. A peach for when I came over and she was covered in peach juice from tripping. A Ferris wheel. And a couple others.  
“Can I help you?”  
“Um ya. I’m thinkin’ about gettin’ a bracelet for um…ya.” The woman behind the counter smiled and helped me put together a full bracelet for McKayla. We had it all done and I paid for it before Aaron found me. Luckily enough, I was standing in an area where he couldn’t tell exactly what I was doing, hopefully.  
McKayla’s POV  
Sleeping in isn’t something I’ve been able to do for a while now. I’ve been getting up every couple hours to check on my mama because it’s something that I have to do. The doctors didn’t tell me to do it, it’s just something that I have to do for myself. I’m worried about her and its becoming more of an instinct since I brought her home from the hospital. She usually just tells me to go back to bed but sometimes I do get her up to go to the bathroom.  
In the past two months, her ALS has been increasing drastically. Her left leg is barely functioning anymore but she’s still able to walk with assistance from a walker, myself or Daryl. She sleeps a lot more than usual which started a couple weeks ago. I’ve noticed a few times that she’s been having issues speaking but she completely ignores it. I just never thought that this was how I’d be spending my junior year of high school.  
Daryl has been helping us a lot lately which I think is sweet of him. When he leaves work, he calls to see if we need anything. He does our grocery shopping which apparently he got shit from Merle when he first did it but now Merle got himself locked up so he doesn’t deal with it. Mama keeps telling me that Daryl is nothing like the other Dixon men. Daryl has a soul compared to the other men in his family and I think she’s right. I just wish Daryl would believe it.  
“McKayla, can you come here for a minute please?” I hear my mama ask from her room. I was in my room studying furiously for exams that start after Christmas break. I’m trying my hardest to graduate early which looks like it could be a possibility. It might not be this year but I might graduate a semester early my senior year which will help us out majorly. With me being in school, mama is left at home by herself. We don’t have money for a nurse but I do leave on my lunch break to come home to check on her.  
“Yes mama?”  
“I want to set up the Christmas tree.”  
“Mama, we don’t have to. It’s fine. I think we can handle one year without a Christmas tree.”  
“McKayla, this could be the last Christmas we have together.” I started shaking my head when she said that. The doctors told us that her form of ALS is harsh. It’s progressing at a rapid rate to the point that they’ve prescribed her medication just to keep her comfortable. She’s refusing a mass majority of treatments to keep her body from shutting down. What made the entire situation worse is that she signed a Do Not Resuscitate order which means when she stops breathing, that’s it.  
“Mama, please don’t say that to me.” She stretches out her hand and I take it. Her grip is weak but she still manages to pull me into her arms where I immediately start crying.  
“Oh baby girl, everything will be fine.”  
“How do you know that?” I say looking up at her.  
“Because you have someone that will take care of you after I’m gone. Just like I have someone waiting for me.” She says wiping my tears from my eyes.  
“Daryl isn’t going to stick around forever Mama. I know he’s not.”  
“McKayla you listen to me. Daryl is a rare breed of man. He’s nothing like his brother or his Pa. I knew that the first time I saw him at the hospital after what happened to you. I don’t think you realize how worried he was when he had to wait there by himself. He loves you McKayla. I just don’t think he’s realized it yet.”  
“Mama, how could you possibly know that?”  
“The look on his face when you walk into the room, is the same face your daddy had when we first met.” She doesn’t talk about my dad often but when she does it hits a nerve in the both of us.  
“Okay, let’s get you up and set up the tree.” When I said that, her face lit up for the first time since we heard the news.  
Getting her downstairs is sometimes a difficult task by myself. If Daryl was here, we’d be able to get her down there quickly. With me by myself, I have her left arm wrapped around my shoulder while I hold onto the banister as we slowly make our way down the stairs. Usually Daryl would manage to just pick her up and carry her down the stairs but I’m not nearly as strong as he is. Honestly I think it’s hot when I think of how strong Daryl actually is.  
As soon as we made it down the stairs, we heard a truck pull into the driveway. It’s about eleven in the morning on a Thursday, so I didn’t think it was Daryl. I got mama into her chair as soon as the front door opened. Mama’s face lit up before I even had a chance to turn around. When I finally turned around, my eyes went straight from Daryl to the man standing next to him.  
“Aaron!” I yelled and ran straight for him before throwing my arms around his neck. I immediately started crying when his arms wrapped around him. Then my feet were back on the ground so he could wrap his arms around our mama which is walking towards us with the help of Daryl. I smiled and Daryl grabbed my hand to give them some privacy.  
He led me down the hallway and into the kitchen before I shoved him up against the wall with a smile across my face. His arms wrapped around my waist to pull me closer to him. This is the closest we’ve been together in a while. I lean up slightly so I could kiss his cheek but he turned his head at the last second to capture my lips. It was a quick kiss but I wanted more and I think he did as well.  
“Why didn’t you tell me you were getting Aaron?”  
“I wanted to surprise you.” He said quietly without making eye contact.  
“Well it was a great surprise.” We stood there for a minute before rejoining mama and Aaron back in the living room.  
Mama was already back in her chair and Aaron was sitting on the couch talking to her. I started for the other chair that sits next to her but Daryl beat me to it. I was going to sit on the couch next to Aaron but Daryl pulled me onto his lap which by the look Aaron gave us, he didn’t approve. He ignored it though since our mama didn’t say anything about it but she’s also a little bit more used to it.  
“I have something for you by the way.” Daryl whispered in my ear after he pulled me closer to him. I turned my head slightly to look at him but he joined in on the conversation that mama and Aaron was having. I shook my head and eventually joined in on the conversation as well. This is going to be an interesting Christmas to say the least.


	10. Home Part 2 (December 93')

McKayla’s POV  
The last thing I expected today was Aaron coming home. That had to be the absolute best surprise ever, but he told us that it will only be for a few days. He was only granted a five day leave and that was the most generous leave that they could offer apparently for this time of the year. They are dealing with another crisis that of course he can’t get into details since it’s confidential. Of course he didn’t tell mama this because the last thing we need is her to be under even more stress than she already is in.  
I sat with mama while Aaron and Daryl went upstairs into the attic to get the Christmas tree and other decorations. It made me laugh when Daryl came down the stairs with a wreath around his neck. Apparently he ran out of hands and that was the best option. Mama started to laugh as well which resulted in her coughing. It only happens once in a while at least, but it still worries me.  
Aaron and Daryl got the tree up in record time and we started decorating it together. Mama had a box of ornaments and she was trying her hardest to put them on the tree. Daryl saw her struggling and he walked over to help her out. I honestly think she was doing it on purpose because she smiled faintly and winked. Aaron nudged me and I rolled my eyes at him.  
After we got the tree set up and decorated it, we worked on taking what we believed to be the last family photo. Daryl insisted that he’d take it, but of course mama had to put her input on it. She insisted that he’d be in the photo because he’s part of the family rather he’d like it or not. I set the camera up so we can all be in it with the lit tree in the background. Aaron moved mama’s chair so it was just to the left of it. Aaron was standing behind it, while Daryl and I were on mama’s left. Of course we had to take a few since we didn’t know how either of them turned out until we got them developed.  
Shortly after the pictures, I went into the kitchen to start making a late lunch or early dinner. It was two in the afternoon by the time we finally got done with everything and of course Aaron and Daryl started to complain they were hungry. I decided to make spaghetti since it was the quickest and the easiest. There was a baguette from the local bakery that we got yesterday that I used for garlic bread. Daryl walked in as I was rubbing butter on the slices of bread that I cut.  
“Barefoot in the kitchen I see.” He says coming up behind me to wrap his arms around my waist and kissing the crook of my neck.  
“Better than barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.” I replied which made him snort directly in my ear.  
“Maybe in a few years.” He said as I finished buttering the final slice. I turned around in his arms to look in his eyes. He looked a little unsure on what he just said.  
“Daryl, what exactly are we doing?” I asked and he raised an eyebrow at me. Not sure if it’s because he was confused by the question or the simple fact that he never expected me to ask it.  
“Um, well. Shit. I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”  
“What, had a girlfriend?” I said and he looked down. My eyes widened and that’s when it came completely clear. The amount of uncertainties he’s had these past couple months all came out within one moment.  
“Daryl, I didn’t know, but I mean it’s pretty obvious now. What were you and Tanya then or do I even want to know?” I asked him and he walked backwards to lean up against the counter across from me.  
“Tanya and I were just two people that kind of grew up with one another that needed to let off steam once in a while.”  
“So you two were fuck buddies?”  
“Yea pretty much, but that ended five months ago.” He said and that’s when I realized that all of the tension I’ve felt these past couple months was because he hasn’t gotten laid. At least with Merle being locked up for right now helps a little bit because he doesn’t have to her Merle’s constant nagging. I’ve been on the phone with Daryl a few times where he had to put the phone down to deal with him. He apologizes the moment that he’s back and I always answer that it’s fine.  
“Is dinner almost ready? I’m starving.” Aaron says as soon as he walks into the kitchen. I walk over to the stove and check the spaghetti which was almost ready to drain. Daryl walked out of the kitchen and it took me a minute to figure out what he was doing, but when I saw mama hooked to Daryl’s side it answered. The little things he does makes me smile and Aaron seemed a little shocked when he saw that.  
“Thank you sweetie.” I heard mama say when Daryl got her settled in the chair.  
“Only doing my job Pam.”  
“Oh Daryl, just call me mama already will ya.” She said with small laugh under her breath. That almost brought a tear to my eye, especially when I saw him smile before looking over to me. I finished getting everything together while Aaron and Daryl helped set the table. The first time Daryl helped me set the table was the funniest thing I ever saw. He was fumbling around every single second. Swearing under his breath when he accidently dropped a fork on one of the ceramic plates. Now he’s doing it without missing a single beat.  
We got all the food on the table and began to sit down. Mama held out her hands so we can bless the food. We don’t always do it unless we are all sitting down to eat a meal together. The first time we did this in front of Daryl he was confused, but he followed. He’s been a quick learner when it comes to this at least. I held mama’s hand and Daryl’s while Aaron had mama’s other hand and Daryl and Aaron outstretched their arms to do it as well.  
“Thank you, Lord. These are simple, but they come from simple hearts that overflow with the realization of your goodness. We ask you to bless us as we eat, bless this food and bless the hands that prepared it. May the words of our lips spring forth from hearts of gratitude and may we bless others as we fellowship today. Amen.” Mama spoke as gracefully as she possibly could. We all said Amen and began filling out plates up. I helped mama get her plate together, just putting on enough that she won’t make too big of a mess within the first thirty seconds. There’s times she’s too embarrassed to eat which usually only happens if we actually go out to lunch.  
We eat our dinner with random conversations. Mama of course kept asking Aaron about being overseas and I think Aaron was just coming up with random things to just keep her happy. I could sense that he’s keeping something from all of us. I’m not going to be the one to ask though. I never like knowing what goes on over there anyways. I don’t think I could handle knowing.  
Daryl’s POV  
After dinner I helped McKayla clean up while Aaron helped their mama get settled back in her chair. I can’t believe she said that I can call her mama, it was a shock to my system, but it all come into perspective when I saw the look on McKayla’s face. She obviously fine with it, but I still find it a little weird. I’ll call her it because she wants me to, but it’s still going to be getting some use to.  
Once we finished cleaning up, we joined Aaron and mama in the living room to watch one of her favorite Christmas movies. It’s a Wonderful Life, which I’ve never seen. McKayla and I sat down on the couch while Aaron sat down in the other recliner. He passed out within fifteen minutes of it starting. We all started to laugh quietly when we started to hear him snore.  
When the movie was over I helped get mama upstairs and in her bed. It was late and even she was almost asleep in her chair. McKayla worked on getting Aaron up so he can go to sleep in an actual bed. I’ve gotten used to doing this by myself at least, just never thought it be someone else’s mama that I would be helping. It would be helpful if my mama was still alive to help though in the process, but that’s an entire different subject.  
Once I got her in bed, she grabbed my hand to make me sit down at the edge. She does this once in a while, it’s usually just so I’ll listen to her. I’m not really sure what the subject that will be discussed tonight though. She smiles faintly and squeezes my hand softly.  
“Daryl, you need to promise me something.”  
“Alright?”  
“Promise me you won’t turn out to be like your daddy. I know what he did to your mama and you boys, we all did, but we were cowards and wouldn’t open our mouths.” She squeezed my hand again and I took a deep breath before answering.  
“I’ll never become the pathetic excuse of a man that my father was. That’s why I got out of there when I did and never looked back. I don’t even know where he is.”  
“That’s probably for the best child. Now, go get some sleep.” She said and I watched close her eyes before I stood up to turn the light off. When I got into the hallway, McKayla was standing there leaning up against the wall. Grabbing her hand, I led her to her bedroom that we share. Not sure if Aaron knows that I’m sleeping in her room, but in all honestly, I don’t really care.  
We got ready for bed in a timely fashion. I laid in the bed with an arm behind my head as I watched her change which gets amusing sometimes. When she realizes that I’m indeed watching her, she usually throws something at me or just can’t stop smiling. At least she doesn’t find me creepy at all that I’m watching her. Once she was done, she crawling into bed and laid her head on my chest.  
“Daryl, what was my mama talking about when she said for you not to turn out like your daddy?” My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. I knew one day this conversation would rise up, but I didn’t want it to be out in the open so soon.  
“My dad used to beat the shit out of me and Merle. I don’t think Merle knew that he did it to me though because of our age difference. It didn’t even start really until after our mama died, at least with me. He blamed me for why she died in the first place.”  
“How could it be your fault? You were how old?”  
“Twelve.” She turned to face me slightly at that moment. I hate thinking about that day. The amount of smoke, people giving me looks like I was the one to blame. The sound of the fire truck as they put out the fire that spread over the entire house. Kids throughout the neighborhood avoiding me like I was a plague that set fire to everything I touch.  
“What happened?”  
“She passed out drunk. Had a lit cigarette in her hand. Apparently they found her in bed though. There was nothing left, but a charbroiled corpse.” I realized after I said it that it sounded a little cold and distant. I decided to lighten up this moment and give McKayla her gift because I’m done thinking about the subject of my childhood. Scooting out slightly from underneath her, I went to the dresser that I’ve been using to store some of my stuff and grabbed the long black rectangular box that has her surprise inside.  
“Daryl what are you doing?”  
“Giving you your gift early.” I said as I sat down on the bed with the box in hand. Her mouth fell open as her eyes became widened in shock.  
“Daryl, you didn’t have to get me something.”  
“Ya I did. You have no idea how much you actually mean to me McKayla. I really don’t think you know.” I told her and she began to smile. I open the box to display the gift inside. From the look on her face, I could tell that she liked it.  
“A motorcycle?”  
“From the night we met.”  
“A Farris wheel, our first kiss. What’s this one for?” She asked as she pointed to the peach.  
“It’s a peach. Remember when we destroyed the kitchen from making the peach cobbler.” She instantly started laughing.  
“We were so sticky and mama came in to see what we were doing. I never saw her so mad.” We both started laughing at that moment because her mama was mad. I honestly thought she was going to beat us with her walker for a second. Not really sure how we ended up destroying that kitchen like that though. I’ve watched her do it a few times before that and she didn’t mess up. It was probably due to the fact that I was helping this time.  
“So do you like it?”  
“Daryl, I love it. It’s perfect. Thank you.” She says wrapping her arms around me neck to give me a hug. When she sat back, I helped her put the bracelet on. A minute later we were laying back down and a few minutes after that she was sound asleep. I had McKayla in my arms where it seems so natural for her to be. It’s no longer weird that she’s last person I see before I close my eyes and the first one I see when I open them. Not sure where we go from here, but I think everything is perfect for right now. Minus the minor things we have to face on a daily basis. I have her and she has me for as long as we want each other. I’m never leaving her side though. Hopefully it doesn’t end because this feels like home.


	11. Cherokee Rose

Daryl’s POV  
This has been the longest work week of my life, I think. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong. Everything that could’ve went better, didn’t happen. The only thing I want to do is go home and have an ice cold beer and see McKayla. Haven’t really been able to this week because I’ve been absolutely exhausted when I got off and driving for over two hours to get there isn’t safe.  
As I pulled into the driveway, McKayla was sitting on the front porch waiting for me with a beer sitting next to her. She’s wearing that blue dress she wore that night at the quarry. That dress does have a tendency of driving me completely insane for some reason. Shutting off the engine to the truck I get out just as she stands up to meet me half way to hand me my beer. I thanked her by grabbing ahold of her and kissing her. When we were done she looked up at me and smiled.  
“You’re covered in gunk. What is even on your face?” She says reaching up and wiping her finger across my cheek. I grab her hand to look at what she’s talking about.  
“That would be very old oil.” I said as I took her finger to wipe it on my work shirt. She laughed and that’s when I noticed that when I kissed her some of the crud I had on my face got on hers. Grabbing her hand I led her inside and into the bathroom where I grabbed a towel to wipe off what was on hers. Then she grabbed the towel out of my hand to wipe off the crud on my face. I watched her put the towel down and then her reaching up to slowly unbutton my shirt. My breathing hitched when she did that because it’s not something I’m used to at all. I’ve been with women obviously, but we’ve always been too drunk to even care about anything. With McKayla though, I’ve been trying to shelter her as much as possible from the shit that my past has made. I have an endless list of scares from my father beating the shit out of me. Some are visible as soon as I take off my shirt. Others are hidden deep inside that no one can even see.  
Once my shirt was unbuttoned, she slid it over my shoulders and it dropped down on the floor. Her eyes were glued to mine as she ran her hand down my chest and stomach. When she got to the hem of my jeans she stopped. I think it was to ask permission or something, I’m not really sure so I just nodded. Her eyes were still glued to mine when her fingers worked on my belt buckle. Less than a minute later I was standing in the bathroom wearing only my boxers.  
“McKayla, you do know I know what’s going through your head right now right?” I said and I watched her as she swallowed a lump that most likely formed in her throat as soon as I said that.  
“How do you know what’s going through my head?” She replied with a shaken voice. I took a step forward to enclose the space that was between us. Placing my hands on her waist, I moved her so her backside was against the counter. Without any effort on my part, I lifted her up so she was sitting on it. We weren’t fully eye level, but it still worked.  
“I know because I’m thinking the same exact thing.” That’s when I leaned in to capture her soft lips. Her arms went up to wrap around my neck as I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist to pull her closer to me. Right before I did that though, she opened her legs so she could wrap them around my waist. That just made us even closer and we only had two layers keeping us from going any further. If she was anyone else, I would’ve already buried myself deep inside of her. With her though and knowing that she’s still not fully over what happened to her last summer, I’ve been taking it slow. It gets difficult sometimes especially when she knows how to turn me on. There’s been times at night where we’d be lying next to each other, when she’s facing away from me, but were facing the same direction. Apparently it’s called spooning and it’s like one of the most domestic things we could possibly do. She starts moving her hips up against me and there’s been a few times where I have to roll over on my back just to restrain myself.  
I started to feel myself get hard when she wrapped her legs tighter around me. Resisting the urge to rip off her dress right now is beginning to get harder and harder with each passing second. She broke our kiss and started to kiss down my jaw then down my neck. I don’t think any female has ever done that before, but it’s starting to drive me nuts. This needs to end now before it gets too out of hand.  
“McKayla, we need to calm down.” I say as I pull away from her. She looked depressed when I said that.  
“Why? I thought you wanted this?”  
“You have no idea how bad I want this McKayla, but there’s no way you’re even ready for this. You might think you are, but I know you’re not.” She looked down and that’s when I heard her begin to cry.  
“I’m so stupid.” I heard her say. Shaking my head, I reclosed the space between us and put my hands on her cheeks to make her look up at me. Her normal blue eyes were even lighter and they were glazed over from tears.  
“You’re not stupid McKayla, I don’t think that’s even possible. I just don’t want you to do something that you’re not ready for. I’m not like him and I’ll never be like him. I wouldn’t intentionally hurt you like that. I might do something stupid, but that’s just part of life.” I said looking into her eyes.  
“Wanna get out of here tomorrow? I think we’re both way past due on a little vacation.”  
“What about mama? We can’t leave her here?”  
“You leave when you’re at school.”  
“Ya, but a nurse comes in and checks on here. Plus I come here during lunch.”  
“McKayla, your mama and I already discussed it earlier when I called. She agrees that you need to get out for a little bit. A nurse is coming tomorrow morning and staying here until we get back Sunday.” Her face lit up when I said that and a smile began to form. I heard her say okay before I told her that I needed to take a shower. She took that as a hint and left the bathroom. I showered quickly and joined her upstairs in the bedroom with the towel wrapped around my waist.  
When I walked in, she was standing there in only her underwear. I was completely shocked when she didn’t even work to cover herself up at all. I think she’s gotten used to me being in the room enough while she’s changing, but this is a lot more than I’ve ever seen. Next thing I knew, I closed the space between us and lifted her up in the air just as our lips collided with one another. Laying her down on the bed, I work my hardest to be as gentle as possible. I just want her to know that I’m not like him. We’re not going to go all the way, just enough that hopefully it’ll tide both of us over for a while. Luckily enough it worked and now we’re lying next to each other trying to catch our breaths. I guess if you know what you’re doing, foreplay really does work. We fell asleep almost instantly in each other’s arms. Tonight ended perfectly, hopefully tomorrow will be just as good.  
McKayla’s POV  
Last night Daryl and I got entangled in one another more than I ever thought two people could. It was all touch and not a single word was spoken the entire time. We didn’t even go all the way for both of us to let off every single worry we might’ve had with each other. It was beyond the words of perfect and I never thought in a million years that I would ever experience something quite like this. I definitely didn’t think that I would ever be this close to someone like this since him.  
Every single touch Daryl placed sent a million different sensations throughout my body. Every single kiss he placed on my skin made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t even move the entire time because I was completely shocked on what was going on. I honestly think I’m head over heels in love with Daryl which scares the living hell out of me. I never know what he’s going to do because he’s honestly closed off most of the time. I pray that he won’t leave though, I don’t think my heart could handle it.  
I woke up to hear the door open and Daryl walking in with a tray of food. I immediately started laughing for some reason. We both ate and talked until I knew it was time to get up so we can go on our little trip. I’m nervous leaving mama here with a nurse due to the fact that no one really knows what she wants besides Daryl and I. Hopefully everything goes smoothly while we’re gone.  
Daryl told me that I don’t need to pack a whole lot because we’re going camping and hiking on a few trails that he goes on when he’s hunting. The last thing I expected was going that far north where he hunts to go camping. Apparently he wanted to stop by his place before we fully got up there to pick up a few things. He figured that a tent would work out better since I’ve never slept outside and he didn’t think I’d like it all that much. It’s always the little things he thinks of. Then he brought out his crossbow and my eyes widened.  
“Don’t worry. It’s not loaded and I highly doubt I’ll even use it. Just bringing it just in case.” He says as he throws it in the truck bed.  
“You worry me sometimes with all of your manly things you have here.”  
“Manly things? Is that what we’re calling it?” I shrug and kiss him on the cheek before getting back in the truck. He gets in a couple minutes after me and we start driving away. A little over an hour later, we arrived at our destination and I watch Daryl set up the tent. I asked him if I could help, but he insisted that I relax, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.  
I have my flannel top off and laying in the open field on a blanket. I’m just trying to get a slight tan with it being almost seventy degrees out. The sun is beating down on my skin when Daryl slides in behind me. He made me jump when he did that because I was completely zoned out. He kissed my neck and I leaned back against him.  
“Come on, let’s go for a walk. I want to show you something.” He says sliding out from behind to stand up. He reached out his hand to help me up. Throwing my shirt back on, I tied it so it was exposing my stomach. Daryl was staring at me the entire time and I stuck out my tongue.  
“Keep doing that, I’ll put it to work.”  
“I think you might enjoy that too much.” I say moving passed him with a smile. Taking my hair tie off my wrist, I pull my hair up to a high pony as I began walking down a path that we started going down. When I turned around, Daryl was standing there with his mouth open and shaking his head.  
“Come on slow poke.” With that he started running towards me which made me start running in the process. I didn’t realize how fast he was until he closed the space between us and threw me over his shoulder.  
“Daryl! Put me down!” I yelled and he slapped my butt gently before putting me back down. I shook my head at him and he started laughing before grabbing me to kiss me.  
“Okay, no more messing around. I want to show this to you before we lose daylight. I’d rather not be stuck out here when it gets dark. I can see, but I’d rather not lose you in the woods.” He says grabbing my hand. A little while later, we reached the destination that he wanted to show me. It was a beautiful waterfall that cascaded down the Cliffside into the river below it. The amount of colorful flowers that were around was mesmerizing. I walked closer and I saw down the stream there was a dam that the beavers have been working on. A couple deer’s that were drinking some water. That’s when I saw something that I never thought I’d ever see. They were white flowers with gold centers. I smiled instantly when I saw them and I immediately thought of my dad telling me stories of them. Walking over to them, I picked one and smelled it. Daryl walked over to me to figure out what I was doing.  
“It’s called a Cherokee rose.” I said.  
“In 1838, during the Trail of Tears, women were crying so much that they couldn’t take care of their children. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother’s spirits. The following day, these flowers began to grow where the mother’s tears had fallen. The rose is white for their tears; the center is gold for the gold that was stolen from them and the seven leaves on each stem represents the seven Cherokee clans.”  
“How do you know this?” He asked me and I explained to him that my dad told me that story shortly before he died. It was something that stuck with me even being so young.  
We found our way back to our spot just before the sun went completely down. Daryl made us dinner by campfire and it was actually really good. I didn’t ask what it was because I was afraid of the answer. There’s been a few times that he’d grill something after a night of hunting and certain things he made, made me question it. This so happens to be one of those times.  
We spent the rest of the night looking up at the stars. I kept pointing out different constellations as we laid in the field on a blanket. When I started to get cold, Daryl brought me into the tent. Just like the night before somehow we ended up entangled in each other. He’s absolutely amazing with everything that he does and has been doing for almost a year now. The following morning when I woke up, I was alone and wrapped up in a blanket that smelled like him. I didn’t bother getting dressed to see where Daryl was since we’re out in the middle of nowhere. When I walked out of the tent I found him sitting by the fire working on getting it started. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck before leaning over to kiss his cheek. He grabbed me and laid me across his lap. That’s how we spent the first part of the morning, until we decided to go on one last hike and then head home. It was a perfect getaway.


	12. I Don't Dance

I Don’t Dance  
Daryl’s POV  
I’ve had ideas in my head all week trying to figure out something for McKayla and I to do. She’s been stressing all week due to her having finals here in a couple weeks. Since she’s been studying, I’ve been keeping my distance to allow her to do so. Well, she told me to stay away for a few days because apparently I distract her whenever I’m around. It’s only because I’m curious on what she’s doing.  
I did graduate high school, but barely. I think they just got me out of there as quick as possible because of who my family was. Most of the time I wasn’t there anyways because of Merle doing something stupid on a daily basis. Now, I’m slowly beginning to regret that I never paid attention more while I was in school. Then again, McKayla is taking classes that are called advanced placement.  
Pulling into the driveway and shutting the truck off before climbing out to go inside, I realize that it looks like it might storm. The clouds are becoming greyer with each passing second. There’s certain things that I don’t like and honestly, storms are one of them. Rain I’m fine with, it’s the thunder and lightning that bother me for some messed up reason. I think it might have something to do with getting lost during a storm when I was younger and it just messed my head up.  
When I walked inside, I noticed down the main hallway, McKayla was sitting under the gazebo. From a distance I can tell she has her nose in a book and is writing away in a journal. Opening the screen door, she still hadn’t noticed I was even there. I’d rather not scare her, but I’ll figure out a way to make it up to her later. Walking across the yard, I walk up behind her and kiss her neck which made her jump.  
“Daryl, what the hell are you doing?!” She yelled as she whipped around and almost slapped me in the process.  
“Saying hello?” By this time she’s already standing up. She smiled and shook her head at me before walking closer to wrap her arms around my neck. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I lean down to kiss her. It felt like I hadn’t done it in so long, I almost forgot how to do it. She pulled away after a couple minutes to look up at me.  
“Hi.” She says to me while biting her lower lip. I seriously don’t think she knows what that does to me. A loud clap of thunder made both of us jump nearly out of our skin. I tensed my arms around McKayla’s waist when that happened along with the rest of my body. She looked up at me with wide eyes.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yep. Let’s go inside.” I said grabbing her hand from around my neck, but she resisted to grab her book and journal. I waited patiently, but when it started to downpour, I became a little anxious. The amount of rain that’s coming down, I know for sure we’re both going to be soaked by the time we get inside. We stood under the sheltered gazebo and I could see McKayla smile from the corner of my eye. It’s hard to be bothered by a storm when the woman standing next to you is happy that it’s raining.  
“Come on.” She says grabbing my hand and trying to pull me out from underneath the shelter we were hidden under.  
“I’d rather not.”  
“Oh come on, you can’t possibly be scared of a little rain.” She says walking out with her arms up in the air to begin spinning around in circles. Her shirt is already stuck tightly against her body from the rain. I take a deep breath while she’s still spinning around and walk into the rain. It was cool against my skin when it first hit me, but I got used to it when McKayla turned around to face me. Closing the distance between us to wrap a hand around her waist. Her hair is soaked and falling into her face. Reaching a hand up, I move a few strands before moving my hand to the back of her neck. As her eyes close, I place my lips on hers as she wraps an arm around my neck.  
Breaking the kiss after a few seconds, I move down to kiss her neck that was wet, but I didn’t care. I bit gently on her collarbone which made her moan quietly under her breath. The hand that was wrapped around her waist, went down and up under her shirt just so I could feel her soft skin. When I did that, the combination of my touch and the rain made her skin get goosebumps. I stopped doing everything just to look at her.   
With her blue eyes open wide and looking up at me, it’s taking every ounce of restraint that I have not to tell her how I really feel. I’d tell her, but honestly I’m scared of what she’d say with it. I’m not sure if she feels the same way. This is all new to me and I don’t have anyone to talk to about how I feel either. Swallowing a lump that formed in my throat, I grabbed her hand to bring her back underneath the gazebo. I know that we probably should’ve just walked inside, but this was closer. I’m trying my hardest not to be the instigator, but she’s making it all way too difficult.  
“Daryl, what are we doing?”  
“I don’t want to go inside yet.” She cocks her head to one side and gave me a confused look.  
“Dance with me.”  
“Umm…” Once again she looks at me again with that same confused look as before. The one thing that I’ve never learned is how to dance. I have no idea if I can dance either, but then again, I’ve never tried.  
“I don’t dance.” Was the only thing I could say to answer and she smiled. She walked closer towards me and grabbed one of my hands to put it on her side. My heart is nearly beating right out of my chest as she grabs my other hand to hold it. Her free hand goes to my shoulder and she starts humming. Then we started dancing under the gazebo while it was raining. Not sure what song she’s currently humming, but then again, I find her humming just about anything. It’s usually either humming or singing that I usually hear.  
“You know I love it when I hear you hum.” I tell her as we continue to sway back and forth.  
“What else do you love?” She asks looking up at me.  
“Hm. I love when you curl up to me at night and when you cry, your eyes become a different shade of blue.”  
“Is that all?” I look down at her and kiss her lips.  
“No, that’s not all that I love.” I say and she looks at me confused, but she doesn’t anything. I think she’s trying to figure out what I’m meaning by that, but when a louder clap of thunder sounded. We came out of our embrace and decided that we both needed to get inside now before the storm got any worse. I think that was probably the best idea either of us had without saying anything.  
McKayla’s POV  
We’re both absolutely drenched when we walked through the sliding door onto the white ceramic floor in the kitchen. I nearly slipped as soon as I ran inside, but Daryl was right behind me and caught me just in time. I’ve said a half a dozen times that we need to get a rug for right there. It doesn’t help when there’s two people that are absolutely soaked from the rain. Wet floors and unbalanced people don’t always mix.  
Walking through the kitchen and into the laundry to see if there’s anything in there, only to be left shorthanded. There’s no clothes in there which doesn’t help us at all. I walk back out and shake my head. I don’t think either of us really know what we’re doing now because we’re still standing in the kitchen getting the floor wet. I’m beginning to shiver slightly from still standing in my wet clothes. Daryl realizes it and grabs my hand, but he stops when we reach the carpet. He knows that we shouldn’t walk on the carpet with being soaked, but there’s no other possible way. We need to get upstairs to change.  
“Daryl, come on. I’m freezing.”  
“I know, but I also don’t want to ruin the carpet with water and mud.”  
“Well, what do you suggest then?” I ask him and he turns around to look at me. He’s rubbing his bottom lip with his finger and I know that means he’s thinking. Then he gave me a look which made me look at him confused. His eyes look up and down quickly and that’s when I figured out what he was thinking without him saying anything.  
“No, I’m not doing that. I’m not going to walk around my house naked. What if Mama comes out of her room and sees that?”  
“Got any better ideas? We could at least put most of the clothes in the laundry room. I’m not sayin’ getting’ completely naked. Just down far enough that we won’t be trackn’ water all over the place.” He said looking directly at me. I huffed before turning around to walk back in the laundry room to start taking off my shirt and shorts. Daryl followed in closely behind, but I think he had some ulterior motives. Next thing I knew, I’m being hoisted up in the air and being sat down on top of the dryer.  
“What the hell are you doing?” He asks me before opening my legs to wrap them around his waist. His hands start running up the length of my legs to my hips and then under my shirt. I figured out what he was doing when he kept bringing my shirt up, so I put my arms up to help him. He threw my shirt on the ground as I reached for his shirt to take it off of him. It’s not often that I get to see Daryl without a shirt on, but when I do, I enjoy it. I know he has scars on his back, but it doesn’t bother me as much as he thinks it does. It’s part of him, part of his past, but I’m just hoping that I’m going to be part of his future. A couple weeks ago he was mumbling something in his sleep to the point that it woke me up. He said those three words in his sleep that melted my heart. I said it back even though I know he didn’t hear me. I’m just waiting for him to actually say it.  
“Daryl?”  
“Ya?” He says looking at me.  
“You know you can say it right? I’m not going anywhere.” I say looking back and forth trying to read his expression which most of the time is an entirely different task.  
“Say what?”  
“You know.” Without saying anything else, I put my hands on his face before my lips are on his. Our mouths collide with one another in a way that just seemed natural to be lost in the moment. His hands go up my back and I feel him unclasping my bra before sliding down and off my shoulders. Removing my hands from his face, I reach down in between us to undo his belt and pants. I pushed them down and they fell to the floor before I could feel him move his legs up and down to take them off. We did all of this without breaking our current embrace.  
His hands go back to my hips to slide me forward before breaking our kiss to lean me backwards and to trail kisses down my neck. As he did that, he worked on the button of my shorts to take them off of me. I could feel him tugging on them, so I lifted my hips to help him. Next thing I know, I’m back in his arms in an embrace with our chests against each other’s. My hands are in his hair as he lifts me up and off the dryer before carrying me out of the laundry room. I have no idea where were even going, but I’m not on the verge of asking. This is the closest we’ve ever been besides what we did a couple weeks ago. That was more quickened foreplay that did feel absolutely amazing to say the least. My eyes were closed the entire time, but I noticed when we turned corners and then him laying me down on the couch. He didn’t stumble when he did it either. He laid me down effortlessly with him on top of me.  
“You know you can say it too right?” He says whispering in my ear before biting on it as gently as possible. I put my hands on his face again to make him look at me. Biting my lower lip and taking a deep breath, I begin to open my mouth, but not one single word comes out. Daryl smiled and kissed me before looking at me.  
“I love you.” I heard him say and my heart nearly stopped. Hearing him say it when he was sleeping was one thing, but this was something completely different.  
“I love you too.” I say and our lips are colliding with one another’s again. Our tongues moving with each other as I feel Daryl shifting on top of me slightly. Next thing I knew, he rolls us over so his back is against the back of the coach. He has me wrapped up tightly in his arms and my hands are on his face as we continue kissing. If someone were to walk in right now, they’d definitely get a show.  
I could feel Daryl’s hands running down my back, passed my behind and then lifting my leg up to move it on top of his. Somehow that just made us even closer. Our tongues are intertwining with one another’s as I feel Daryl’s hand disappear from my thigh, but returns along with a blanket that he lays on top of us. I guess a little privacy is always a good thing. At least being covered does help with visibility.  
When I thought it couldn’t get any better, I feel Daryl move my panties to the side before slipping a finger inside. I threw my head back in pleasure which gave him the opportunity to kiss my neck. I’m breathing heavier when I felt Daryl’s teeth scraping against my collarbone gently. I’m trying my hardest to stay quiet, but it’s difficult with what he’s doing. In more ways than one, he knows what he’s doing.  
Burying my face in the crook of his neck, I started feeling pressure which made me open my mouth. When I released, I bit down gently on the skin of his neck which made him moan in the process. Once we were done, we continued to lay there in each other’s arms eventually falling asleep there. It’s been all touch with us and I do sort of want more, but I’m not sure if I’m ready or not. I’m more nervous than anything. Only time will tell I guess.


	13. One Year (June 94)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McKayla's mom asked Daryl to promise her something important.

One Year  
Daryl’s POV  
I’ve been thinking of ways to keep McKayla’s mind off of what’s to happen in a few days. I know it’s beginning to bother her by how she’s acting. Her junior year is over and the beginning of it was filled with tragedy right after the other. From the rude comments and stares from her school to her mama getting diagnosed with an incurable disease. I was able to distract her during the summer after it happened, but that’s because I felt like I need to, I still do.  
In two days will mark the one year anniversary of what Zack did to her. A few nights ago, she started to get nightmares and I had to wake her up just to get her to calm down. Then of course her mama heard it so I had to leave her to reassure mama that she was fine. It’s been happening every night ever since and you can tell just by looking at her that she’s exhausted. Honestly I am too, but I run on less sleep than she does anyways, plus there’s coffee.  
“Hey Daryl, do you know where I put…what are you doing?” She said walking into the bedroom. I turned around and looked at her confused.  
“Wait what?”  
“You were staring out the window like a crazy person.”  
“Well I never said I was sane, I am with you.” I said moving closer to her and she started laughing. I leaned in and kissed her lips.  
“So what are you looking for?” She looked up at me confused then her eyes lit up and in that moment I think she realized what I was talking about.  
“I’m looking for my locket. I can’t seem to find it.” She said as she walked to her dresser and started going through all of her jewelry. The thing she didn’t know was that I took it to get it cleaned. She kept complaining that it was dirty and that it needed some tending to. So one night when she was sleeping, I grabbed it and put it somewhere so that on my lunch break I could drop it off for it to be cleaned. Of course I just got it back yesterday, so I think its perfect timing. Walking over to my dresser without her knowing, I opened it and grabbed the box the jewelry store put it in for safe keeping. Opening the box, I took the necklace out and walked up behind McKayla. I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face in the crook of her neck before I started kissing it. That’s when she pushed back against me. I could tell she was enjoying it because her breathing started to become heavier.  
“Daryl, I’m serious. I can’t find my necklace.”  
“You mean this one?” I said holding it out in front of her. She gasped when she saw how shiny and clean it was.  
“Daryl, did you… Oh my gosh… You are just…” I heard her do this growling noise before she turned around to wrap her arms around my neck for a hug. She slid her hands back down to place them on my face.  
“You’re absolutely amazing, you know that right?” She says before lifting up on her toes to kiss me. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I help her out by lifting her up for easier access. We were like that for too long apparently because Aaron started banging on the door. I set her down and she finished getting ready. Opening the door, I see Aaron leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.  
“Do I even want to know what you two were doing in there?” He asked me as I walked out and shut the door behind me.  
“Probably not.” As soon as I said those words, which were obviously the wrong ones. Aaron grabs me and slams me against the wall. I didn’t do anything, but throw my hands up.  
“You listen to me, you hurt her, I swear on all that is holy that I’ll kill you. I didn’t get the chance to do it to that piece of shit ex of hers, but this is my final and only warning.”  
“Aaron, do you honestly think I’d ever hurt her? She’s the only one I’ve ever been with for longer than one night. And for your information, we haven’t done anything. I was only fucking with you. So just calm down. I’m not as dumb as Merle.” I said moving his arms off of me just in time for McKayla to walk out of her room. She must’ve heard all the commotion, but she didn’t say anything. Aaron gave me one last look before walking down the stairs.  
“What was that all about?”  
“Don’t even worry about it. You look amazing as usual. You ready?” I ask her and she nods her response. We walk down the stairs to see her Mama using a walker to walk into the kitchen. Aaron is of course walking close behind her in case her body doesn’t cooperate. It’s happened a few times, but the doctor insists on her using it so she doesn’t lose all function by sitting there and doing nothing. I’ve came home a few times to see Mama sitting on the floor up against the wall in the hallway. Luckily enough though it hasn’t been that long since she got in that position.  
“Hey Mama, we’re leaving!” McKayla yelled down the hallway.  
“Okay sweeties. See you two in a while. Be safe.” She responds and we walk out the front door. My plan is to surprise McKayla with a nice quiet dinner at a nice restaurant, just us two. I’m just hoping it all goes smoothly and she’s distracted enough. We got into my truck and started driving away. A while later we pulled into the parking lot next to the restaurant and got out. We started walking down the sidewalk when I put my arm around her shoulder and she responded by wrapping her arm around my back before looking up at me. Opening the doors to the restaurant, the atmosphere inside was a little stuffy. It was probably due to the fact that it was a Hibachi grill I’m guessing. I have no idea what it is, but I overheard a few guys at work talking about it and I decided to take McKayla there.  
“Welcome, do you have a reservation?” Said the hostess standing behind the small counter.  
“Yes, it should be under Dixon.” We waited patiently until she grabbed two menus and told us to follow her. Walking passed a few tables, we sat down at one of the grills and waited until our cook came out. McKayla’s attention was directed towards a table across the restaurant, but I wasn’t sure why until I got a closer look. Apparently the couple realized she was looking at them because they made their way over to us.  
“Hello McKayla.” McKayla reached for my hand and squeezed it hard. The woman that was standing in front of us is Zack’s mother. I met her through passing after Zack was arrested and McKayla had to go down to the station for a line-up, which I thought was the dumbest thing ever.  
McKayla’s POV  
There’s certain times in everyone’s life when fear takes over completely and this is one of those times. I’m face to face with the mother of my ex and I have no idea what I should do. I want to run away and hide, but I know that I can’t do that. She’s staring back at me with a gaze that seems to be burning a hole right through me. Out of all the places in this area, they would of course be at the same restaurant Daryl and I are in.  
I haven’t seen her since I walked into that police station to make an official statement about what Zack did to me that night. All the feelings that I once had for that family is gone and has been for a while now. The only feelings that I might have are completely negative and I’d rather not admit it to myself. My heart feels like it’s about to burst right through my chest at any given moment. The only thing that’s keeping me at least semi sane right now is Daryl standing behind me.  
“Mr. and Mrs. Hennessey. How are you two doing?” I finally got myself to say.  
“Oh, we’re perfectly fine. I see that you’re doing fine. Got yourself a new guy that you could, what, throw into prison as well?” At that point my eyes began to swell up with the upcoming burst of tears.  
“Mrs. Hennessey, if I may step in. There’s nothing that I’d ever do to McKayla that would result in her to throw me in prison. You didn’t see her that night, I did. So how about you and your husband go back over to your table and leave us alone.”  
“How dare you speak to me like that. Do you have any idea who I am?”  
“Quite honestly, I could give two shits and a fuck who are you, same as your husband. I’m looking at you both as the parents that gave birth to an abuser and a rapist, amongst other things, but I’d rather not make that big of a scene right now in the middle of a restaurant. So, I’ll ask one last time. Please go back to your table and let us be.” I couldn’t believe Daryl would even say that. He’s usually the quiet one that avoids any type of confrontations. Then Mr. Hennessey stepped forward to grab his wife, but she swatted his arm away roughly.  
“You can’t threaten me like that. I could have you arrested in a heartbeat.”  
“Just shut the fuck up.” I said loud enough that I think the entire restaurant could hear me.  
“Excuse me?”  
“You heard me. I’m getting sick and tired for getting bashed every single day for what your son did to me. You think I asked for that? Did you honestly think I asked to get the living hell beat out of me and then raped by your son? If you think that, then so be it. But do us all a favor and get the pole that you obviously have shoved so far up your ass and get over yourself already.” That’s all I had to say and I grabbed Daryl’s hand before walking out of the restaurant. When we walked out of the restaurant, it was down pouring. The cold rain felt amazing on my skin from being so hot from being in that altercation. Daryl rushed me to the truck and opened by door to let me in. As soon as I got in and he shut the door, that’s when the tears came.  
“McKayla, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” He said getting in and moving closer to me. He tempted to put his arm around me to comfort me, but I brushed him off. I didn’t want to be touched right now for some ridiculous reason.  
“Just take me home.” I said and with that Daryl started up the truck to drive home. We didn’t say anything to each other the entire ride. I just stared out the window, watching everything pass by slowly. Every ounce of energy that I had was used to stand up to that woman. I just wish that I could either turn back time or completely forget about that night.   
I even want to forget about this night, at least parts of it. Daryl was trying to do something that would keep my mind off of the upcoming date and I loved it. I played it off that I had no idea what was going on, but that night will be permanently engraved into my mind. I’m not sure if I’ll ever forget that night. Then Daryl pulled off to the side of the road and parked the truck.  
“What are we doing Daryl?”  
“We’re going to talk.”  
“Really? You’re taking this time to actually talk to me?” I asked harshly, but at that moment I really didn’t care. I just wanted to go home, but apparently Daryl had other ideas.  
“I remember not so long ago when you told me not to shut you out, but now you’re doing what you told me not to do. How the hell is that even fair? Can you tell me that?”  
“I don’t want to talk right now. I just want to go home. Is that so much to ask?” I say as I look at him. Daryl’s jaw is tense and I can tell that he’s irritated. I’ve only seen that face a few times, but it was usually directed towards Merle.  
“Daryl that face might work on other people, but it doesn’t work on me.” I tell him as I look away.  
“There’s a lot of things that I know that doesn’t work on you McKayla. Just like you know there’s things that doesn’t work on me. You being bitchy doesn’t work on me for starters.” Did he really just say that? I turned and looked at him with my mouth open. He was staring back at me with a raised eyebrow.  
“McKayla, rather you believe it or not. I’m in this. You’re it for me. You could leave me tomorrow, but that won’t change my feelings for you.” He said scooting closer to me on the truck bench. His hand moves up and touches my face. In that moment I realized that I was holding my breath.  
“I’ve never been in a relationship McKayla, so I have no idea what I’m doing. The only thing I know is, that the woman I’m looking at right now, I’m in love with and have been for a while.” Then his lips were on mine and everything about that evening changed with that one kiss. Out of all the kisses we’ve given each other over the past few months, this was completely different. It was deep, loving, caring, everything that you can possibly imagine wrapped up in one single kiss. He pulled away and looked into my eyes.  
“I love you.” He said before his lips are back on mine. I pushed him back into his seat before lifting my leg up and over him to straddle him. Making out on the side of the road probably isn’t the brightest idea, but I could care let right now. I leaned too far back and ended up honking the horn which made Daryl jump. That made me laugh, but I looked at him and smiled.  
“I love you too.” This is the second time we’ve said it in the past couple weeks. The funny thing is, just like last time, he was the first to say it. I have a feeling if Merle knew that he said it, he’d probably make fun of him. Merle has a tendency of making fun of Daryl for the littlest things though. Eventually we got home that night. I don’t remember getting home or going upstairs. I was dazed.


End file.
